Total Drama Rebirth
by Fangren
Summary: New camp. New rules. New staff. Same old campers. How will these 26 contestants deal with the fifth season of the game? Find out, on Total Drama Rebirth! Post-ROTI AU. DJawn; others TBD. No set update schedule.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

I originally began writing this story before All-Stars was announced, so naturally this fic should be considered AU, diverging after ROTI. I will, however, make use of various elements from All-Stars, e.g. Mal and his interactions with the rest of the cast.

Regarding shipping, the main pairing will be DJawn with others I haven't quite finalized. It will depend on how the story evolves. Initial pairings will be based upon the post-ROTI canon.

Regarding updates, I cannot guarantee any set schedule, or that the story will even make it as far as I want it to. I will do my best, and for the foreseeable future I will be working on the fic every other day, and will post a chapter once the next has been finished. I have thusly already completed chapter 2, but it will not be posted until I am done with chapter 3, and so on. The chapters will likely be long, and as I haven't completely plotted out future challenges and such, it will likely be some time between chapters.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the story.

-Fangren

* * *

**Chapter 1 – The Fool(s)**

[A few days after the finale of Total Drama Revenge of the Island]

"Why have you come before us, Advocate?"

One of the several people sitting in the upper level of the large circular room spoke, addressing the lone figure standing in the very center of the chamber.

"As I said in the letter I sent the Council, I have a request regarding the Wawanakwa situation."

"Ah, yes." A different member of the shadowy group replied. "We have reviewed your letter, Advocate, and we do not believe that your _proposal_ is worth our attention at this time."

"Council, with all due respect, shouldn't we be doing _something_ for them?" The lone figure spoke again, voice rising in controlled frustration. "Those kids have been off that island for a couple of months, and yet nobody has bothered to assess the damage that was done!"

A number of figures stirred, and some began whispering to each other. One of them spoke out. "We simply don't have any room in the budget to clean up any more of Chris McLean's messes, especially when it involves rehabilitating a bunch of _teenagers._" Murmurs of agreement rose around the room.

"So none of you care about their well-being? About the aftereffects of McLean's little '_show_'?" The lone figure protested.

"A study like that, while potentially interesting, would simply cost too much." Another of the shadows said.

A resigned sigh. "Out of curiosity, what exactly _is_ there room in the Council's budget for if you can't approve a relatively simple study?"

More murmurings from the elevated crowd. "Well, we _do_ have a few hundred million set aside for a reality program, although we never did agree on what it was going...to...be..."

Silence fell on the room. "Now, Advocate, those kids you're so keen on helping, they were the contestants on our last reality series endeavor, correct?" A new voice in the upper level piped up.

"...yes..." the lone figure answered, not liking where the conversation was heading.

"So then, why not turn your little study into another season? You get your data, the kids get helped, we get our hit show, everyone wins!"

"I'm not exactly prepared to create - and run – a...a hit reality show! I wouldn't even know where to _begin_!"

"Don't worry about that, Advocate," the voice who'd suggested the show said, "_we'll_ take care of that. In fact, I believe we have a few prototypes that may prove a tad..._useful_?"

"Hmm, yes," replied another member of the audience, "we have a few things we wanted to field test which should be perfect for this show of ours."

"Then it's settled!" the show-suggester exclaimed. "We'll allow you to collect the data or whatever you want on those kids, so long as you work it into the show. Just don't make it obvious that you're studying them, that won't be good for ratings."

The lone figure in the center of the two-tiered room was at a loss for words.

* * *

[A few months later]

Devon Joseph, better known to his friends, family, and the world at large as 'DJ', was feeling more nervous than he could ever remember – and given what he'd been through in the last couple years, that was saying something. He'd traveled around the world during three seasons of Total Drama – mostly during the third season – and now he'd traveled all the way out to Camp Wild Lake in British Columbia to compete in his fourth.

Given everything that had happened in the past three seasons, DJ's nervousness was entirely understandable. He was alone at the front gate, his Mama having said her goodbyes nearly ten minutes ago, and he was having some major second thoughts about actually getting back into the game. Sure, he knew that things would be different this time – Chris and Chef had been arrested at the end of Revenge of the Island, and the people behind the new season were supposed to be completely different from the previous producers as well, plus all the rules changes that were promised – but DJ just couldn't shake the feeling that disaster was on the horizon.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that he was doing this for his Mama, the rest of his family, and for Bunny 2 (as he'd watched the previous seasons and thus knew about what had happened to his original pet). The family was still in a bit of debt from their failed cooking show, and of course he himself could stand to have a bit of cash saved up for when he began college next year. He also reminded himself how nice it would be to be reunited with his old friends from the show, as well as to meet the newer contestants outside of a challenge where he was expected to eat the disgusting (and probably toxic) food they'd made.

Picking up his bags full of clothes and amenities, DJ took a tentative first step into the bounds of the camp; when he didn't immediately get attacked or injured in any way, he began to relax a little. Camp Wild Lake was larger than Wawanakwa had been, and was of a considerably higher quality. The buildings looked clean and well-maintained compared to the old camp's ramshackle excuses for two cabins, lodge, communal bathrooms, and confessional outhouse. If it wasn't for the fact that it seemed to be completely deserted, DJ would have expected it to be crawling with campers of all ages.

It didn't take long for him to realize that he had no idea where he needed to go – he'd been told the place and time (he had ended up arriving a couple hours early, just in case), but not the building he was to report to. He and his mama had assumed that someone would meet him at the entrance, but as that hadn't been the case DJ was feeling his nervousness begin to rise again. A slight, but sudden, breeze across his back and the feeling that he was being watched weren't helping matters.

Fortunately, he was saved by a sudden call from one of the loudspeakers dotted around the campgrounds.

"Welcome to Camp Wild Lake, Mr. Joseph," began a deep, calm voice. "We apologize for not meeting you at the gate, but we are glad to see you've made it safely. Now, if you'd be so kind, please follow the path to your left. From there, the third right will lead you to the Main Lodge, where the welcoming party will begin once all of the campers have arrived and the rules have been explained."

A click signaled the end of the broadcast, and DJ was left thinking that the man on the speaker, whoever he was, seemed to know exactly what he was doing and actually wanted him to feel comfortable. It was a sharp contrast to Chris McLean, who'd never really cared about anything other than himself and the show's ratings. As he turned and began walking down the path he'd been given, the feeling of impending doom began to recede, if only slightly.

* * *

It wasn't until another half hour had passed before DJ, who'd been wandering the Main Lodge alone, finally heard the voice on the loudspeaker again.

"Welcome to Camp Wild Lake, Mr. Wilkins. To you as well, Miss Campbell, Mr. Napoletano." As the voice proceeded to give the new three directions, DJ struggled to remember who they were. He wasn't sure he knew all his old friend's last names that well, but he felt that he'd be able to recognize at least one of them. Still, the names Wilkins, Campbell, and Napoletano didn't ring any bells, so DJ figured they were probably some of the contestants from season four.

Making his way back to the lodge's main lobby, DJ quickly discovered that he was right about them being newer contestants. The three were already chatting amongst themselves, good friends catching up on what had happened since they'd last seen each other. Two of them DJ recognized from that disgusting challenge he was supposed to judge; the third he hadn't met in person, but remembered from watching the show at home.

"Uh, hi guys!" His greeting was a bit hesitant, as he didn't really know them that well. "Cameron, right?" he said, extending his hand towards the shorter, scrawnier black teen. Life outside the bubble had done Cameron Corduroy Wilkins well; his nerdy physique still held but it seemed like he'd gained a bit of muscle since the show had ended, and he carried himself with greater confidence than he ever had before winning Revenge of the Island.

"Yeah," Cameron replied, shaking DJ's hand, "I think we met each other when you came to judge the cooking challenge at the end of the season."

"Ugh, don't remind me." DJ grabbed his stomach, disgusted my the memory. "I didn't even _touch_ the stuff you guys made, and I _still_ ended up in the bathroom for an hour."

"Oh, sorry about that," said the red-headed girl standing next to Cameron. "My name's Zoey, by the way. I was also in that, uh, challenge."

"Don't worry about it," DJ replied with a wave of his hand. "Once I watched the episode myself, I realized that you really didn't have much to work with. I'm sure you guys made the best dishes you could."

"Err, y-you watched the show?" the lanky boy with the spiky hair blurted out.

"Yup!" DJ answered, not catching the other guy's sudden nervousness. "Me and Mama watched every episode. You're Mike, right? The one with the..."

"...Multiple Personality Disorder, yeah." Mike finished. There was an awkward pause for a moment, with Mike not meeting DJ's eyes, Zoey and Cameron visibly worried for him, the former taking her boyfriend's hand in her own, and DJ realizing that he'd said the wrong thing.

"Err, sorry..." he began, before getting cut off by Mike again.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just still not used to people knowing about that before I tell them." Mike smiled, and extended his hand in friendship.

"Right, I got it," DJ said, accepting the gesture. "I probably wouldn't like it either if I were in your situation."

After DJ led the others to the only large, open area in the Lodge he'd been able to find – the Mess Hall, which had several long tables arranged in rows perpendicular to a small stage – the four began to chat about what they'd been up to since last season and such, with DJ especially getting to know the others better. Over the next two hours, more and more of the contestants began to show up.

Eva Babiak was the next to arrive. The weightlifter arrived to the Mess Hall alone after getting directions from the voice over the loudspeaker. Although DJ did stand up to greet his former teammate, she only grunted in response. Without so much as a second glance, she took a seat far from the others, turned on her mp3 player, and began lifting a dumbbell she'd taken out of her bag.

"Duncan! Gwen! Glad you two could make it!" DJ called when the next pair arrived a few minutes later.

"DJ! Good to see ya man," the punk replied, bumping fists with his old friend and tossing his duffel bag on one of the tables.

"Yeah, I thought you didn't want to be on the show again." Gwen added, putting her things with her boyfriend's.

"I wasn't, until they told me Chris wasn't going to host it, and that it wasn't going to be at Camp Wawanakwa again," the brickhouse with a heart shrugged. "I figure the game might actually be fun with a better host, ya know?"

"Oh, totally. No more _insane_ host has gotta mean no more _insane_ challenges." Duncan said with a cocky smirk.

"Hah! And if Chef isn't here, we might get to eat actual _food_ for once." Gwen added.

DJ chuckled. "Hey, come on and meet some of the guys from last season." he said, taking his old friends to chat with his new ones.

The next arrivals were heralded by the greeting of a 'Mr. Jackson' and shortly afterward a 'Miss Kurcyzinski' by the man on the loudspeaker. None of the contestants in the Mess Hall could place the names, but since the older cast were more familiar with each other, Cameron surmised that the new pair must have been on 'Revenge of the Island' along with himself, Zoey, and Mike – that group of campers hadn't spent as much time around each other, so it was understandable that some surnames were forgotten.

Less than a minute later, the sounds of running and trash-talking made it clear who had arrived.

"Oh no, Lightning ain't gonna lose to a girl the same way twice!"

"Gah! Dammit, you'll pay for that!"

"Sha-Lightning!" the first voice – a young, muscular black man like DJ, but with a thoroughly different personality – said as he entered the Mess Hall like he'd just crossed the finish line of a 100-meter dash. "In your dreams! Lightning ain't gonna lose _this_ time!"

"Yeah, _whatever_." Jo said, rubbing her arm where Lightning had evidently rammed into her. "_Idiot_." she muttered under her breath, looking disdainfully at the assembled campers. Eventually her gaze fell on Eva, who stopped what she was doing and glared right back.

The two recognized each other immediately, both having gotten sick of the constant comparisons the Total Drama fanbase had made. Both were fierce competitors, and neither was about to back down from the nonverbal challenge they had just made.

In total silence, and without breaking her gaze, Jo walked over to the table Eva was at and sat opposite her. Eva put away her mp3 player, turned to face her new rival. At once, the two athletes slammed their right arms on the table, and the match had begun.

The others stared in silence, even Lightning who had been bragging about his awesomeness. It quickly became clear that the two were evenly matched; neither gave a single inch to her opponent, and neither seemed at all likely to break concentration. Even the loudspeaker greeting the next camper didn't faze them.

"WOOOOOO~!" Neither did a slightly musical, and very loud, cry from said new arrival. The other seven finally had their attention drawn away from Eva and Jo's stalemate towards a young man whose appetite was only surpassed by his friendliness and love of fun. "Gwen! Duncan! DJ! It's so great to see you all again!" he said, giving the three one of his giant hugs.

"Uh, good to see you too, Owen." Gwen managed to choke out before the big guy released them and scooped up the other three, who had started to inch away from the blond.

"And I don't know who you guys are, but it's great to meet you anyway! My name's Owen!"

"N-nice to meet you!" Zoey stammered, squeezed between her friends. "I'm Zoey, this is Cameron," she nodded her head to the smaller boy.

"Hi!" he squeaked.

"...and this is Mike!" Zoey added, motioning to her boyfriend, who was currently in mid-gasp.

"Dagnabbit!" 'Mike' said, his right eye shut and his lips withdrawn to give an appearance of an old man. "Didn't anyone ever teach you how to hug properly? You can't just strangle 'em!"

"Oops! Heh heh. Sorry." Owen said, releasing the three. "Nice impression by the way."

"It's not an impression, genius." Duncan said. "It's a separate personality. Didn't you watch last season at all?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry." the blond replied.

"Don't worry about it." Zoey said, turning to her 'boyfriend'. "Chester, do you mind bringing Mike back?"

"Yeah, yeah." the old grouch grumbled, gasping back to Mike. "Uh, did I miss something?" he said sheepishly.

"Oh, nothing important." Zoey said, hugging her boyfriend. "Just Chester being Chester."

"Heh heh," Owen giggled, "it's so great to be back on the show again. I wonder who else is gonna show up?"

"Ugh, I hope _Scott_ isn't in the game." Zoey grumbled.

"I don't think he will," Cameron replied, "he was in pretty bad shape at the end of last season."

"Hah!" Duncan snorted. "Watching that was awesome. I totally didn't think Miss Goody-Two-Shoes had it in her." he smirked at Zoey, who just blushed and rolled her eyes. "Now that I think about it, I don't think Alejandro will be back either. Dude got burned pretty harshly at the end of season 3."

"Yeah, and then didn't he get stuck in a robot by Chris?" Gwen added. "No _way_ he'll be able to compete."

"Well, I know for a _fact_ that Geoff and Bridgette aren't comin' back." DJ stated. "I talked to Geoff after I got the invite, and he said that he and Bridgette were already booked for something else. He didn't say what, but I got the feeling that it was some other reality show."

"Ooh!" Zoey piped, "I bet it was the next season of 'Spectacular Marathon'! They always have couples on it."

"Oh yeah, I could totally see them on that show." Owen agreed. "I just remembered! I think the 'Drama Brothers' got back together and are having a reunion tour."

"So I guess that means no Trent, Cody, Harold, and Justin then, right?" DJ asked.

"Yeah, and you can bet that Sierra will follow her precious 'Codykins' anywhere he goes." Gwen added, putting air quotes around the former stalker's pet name for her crush.

"Actually," said a certain familiar throaty, raspy voice, "I AM going to compete in this season." Staring straight ahead, one Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V walked into the Mess Hall, instruments and other luggage in tow.

"Only because you're bein' a prima donna," another, more irate voice said as she followed the nerd-turned-pop star into the room.

"Hey LeShawna," Gwen greeted her old friend, "I guess this means you and Harold got back together?"

"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder why." she said, setting her things down in the ever-growing pile of bags and suitcases. "Especially when stringbean just up and leaves the Drama Brothers, making _me_ follow along so I can talk some sense into him! And all just because the song crazy-girl wrote is more popular than his!"

"They don't respect my obvious talent, gosh!" Harold rebutted, and the two settled into what appeared to be a common argument.

* * *

Elsewhere, another pair of campers arrived. However, like Lightning and Jo before them, their joint arrival was purely coincidence.

"Miss Grebes, Miss Sweetlily, welcome to Camp Wild Lake. I apologize for the lack of a welcoming party, but if you would please follow the path to your left, then the third right to get to the Main Lodge. Once inside, take the first right and on your left you should see the Mess Hall, where the other campers have gathered."

The two young women paused to look first in the direction the loudspeaker had given them, and then at each other.

"Ya know, my great-aunt's cousin, Betty, invented loudspeakers. Before that, people had to-" the bow-wearing girl was cut off by a hand on her lips.

"You don't have to do that, you know," the other girl said calmly. "I understand that you never stood out when you were younger, so you started telling lies to get attention until it became difficult to control, but if you stopped telling yourself that you're impressing others, I think that people will begin to like the real you!" She looked around the camp, before setting off away from the Main Lodge.

"Uh...oh, aren't you going the wrong way?" Staci said, leading the other girl to stop and look back at her.

"I know. But I'd like to take a walk around the camp first. I want to get in tune with the natural energies of the area before they get disturbed by the challenges. Don't worry though, I'll be back in time for the big reveal. Oh, and congratulations on your hair growing back!" Without another word, Dawn set course for the forested part of Camp Wild Lake. Staci touched the much-too-short-for-her-liking hair on her head, smiled, and set off to where she'd been directed.

* * *

The past few months had been enlightening for Dawn Sweetlily. Her time on the show had exposed her to many things, and the period after had given her time to think about herself, her abilities, and what she wanted to do in this wonderful world. It had become increasingly obvious that her precognitive abilities were far from perfect – she had seen a dark cloud over Dakota, but the girl had found love in her tragedy. She had foreseen far less of the dangers on the island than she'd hoped going in, and had especially been blind-sided by Scott's betrayal and his fake immunity statue. Dawn decided that the lesson there was that the future cannot be completely predicted; some things may simply not be set in stone.

At least she'd managed to turn her new-found semi-fame, augmented by the cash she'd gotten selling the keepsakes she'd collected, into fulfilling her goal of a wildlife sanctuary on Wawanakwa. It had been a hard-fought battle, but once the land had gotten new owners both the Camp and Boney Island became protected land. She was very grateful to the anonymous benefactors who had donated to her cause – one in particular had gone out of their way to ask that a team of researchers be allowed to study the mutant ecosystem in order to better understand and protect them. It had been a difficult decision – most of the scientists she'd met in her life had been hostile to her views – but in the end she had given her support on the grounds that they do not harm the living creatures residing there.

Having finally penetrated deep into the wooded part of the camp, Dawn took a deep and soothing breath. Although Wawanakwa had its own beauty and charms, it was nice to be back in land that was more properly cared for. Every living thing had an aura showcasing every detail of their souls, so it was easy for her to judge the health of an area just by looking at it. Where the previous camp had been twisted by toxic waste and the residual negative energy of the show's first season, the combined aura of Camp Wild Lake was one of the purest of any area regularly inhabited by humans. Dawn knew that she would be able to do so much good here.

Of course, before that she would need to meditate and get in tune with the natural flow of this land's energy. Finding the stump of a fallen redcedar, she assumed her variant of the lotus position and opened her senses, and soul, to the world. It was better to ask for the Earth's blessing beforehand, after all.

* * *

"Alright fellow campers," said a strong yet slightly-winded voice, "we have arrived at the location we were given."

"Yeah, whatever army boy. Just put my things down _gently_ on a table before you stink them up with your _sweat_." sniped a bossy young woman, following the cadet into the Mess.

"You know, _Heather_, if you had just carried your _own_ stuff, maybe you wouldn't have to complain so much about how it's handled." replied a different young woman, slightly nasal voice clearly concerned for the young man carrying three other camper's luggage in addition to his own.

"Oh whatever, Beth. It's not like Private Brickhead over there _cares_." Heather said, glaring at the shorter girl.

"Actually, Ma'am, it's Private Brick McArthur." The fashion-loving military man said as he set down the various luggage he'd carried from the entrance, taking care to keep them in separate piles. "But you're right in that I certainly don't mind assisting my fellow campers when they need it."

"See, Beth?" Heather began, a gloating look on her face. "I was-"

"Outta the way!" the Queen Bee of the first three seasons and her one-time ally were violently shoved away from the doorway they had been blocking. "I gotta get anotha can a' hairspray." Concerned as always with her finely sculpted 'do, the Jersey girl strolled into the Mess Hall without a second glance to the two girls she'd knocked over. Quickly finding her own bags, she produced one of the many cans she'd packed. A quick spray later, and the spray-tanned camper looked over the crowd who had mostly just gone back to their conversations.

"Heya, Vito!" Anne Maria called, sending a saucy wink Mike's way. The boy cringed and made to respond, but it seemed that someone else wanted a piece of her first.

"Hey, _orange girl_!" Heather nearly yelled as she stomped towards Anne Maria. "Who do you think you _are_ to shove _me_ out of the way like that?"

Anne Maria looked Heather over, and snorted. "Someone with a lot betta fashion sense than _you_."

"Oh _that_ is _it_!" Heather growled, charging.

"Typical," another of the latest group of new arrivals snarked from the entrance to the Mess. "She's only been here five seconds and already she's started a fight. It's amazing that she actually _won_ season three."

"I _know_, right?" Beth chimed in, giggling.

"NOAH! BUDDY!" Owen shouted, getting up from his seat to greet his World Tour friend. "How ya been? It's so awesome to see you again!" he continued, hugging his much smaller fellow camper with just as much, if not more, enthusiasm as he'd had with the others earlier.

"Uggh..." Noah choked. "Easy there, big guy. I won't be fine if you keep this up."

"Oh, right." Owen giggled uncomfortably, releasing his friend. "Sorry, I need to stop doing that."

"Whatever," Noah said. "To answer your question, I've been doing pretty well for myself. I've already been accepted into a very prestigious university, but I figured I could give the whole 'Reality TV Show' thing another go before classes start in the fall. Who knows, maybe I'll win this time and not have to worry about tuition."

"Hah hah! That's pretty smart!" Owen replied, and that sparked a conversation between them and a few of the other contestants about their futures after the show.

"Hey, uh, Brick was it?" Beth asked the cadet, finally turning herself away from Heather getting beaten up. "I've been meaning to ask, whose luggage did you bring in besides Heather's and Anne Maria's?" she said, looking at the third (and rather eccentric) pile of bags the young man had been carrying.

"Oh, these?" Brick responded, "these belong to a young woman named Izzy MacTaggart, I believe."

* * *

The winds shifted, and Dawn Sweetlily snapped out of her trance. She'd just barely sensed it herself, and the cries of of the fleeing woodland animals confirmed it. It was a chaotic being, one she'd felt once before in her life – on Wawanakwa during a certain challenge. The aura-reader felt a chill as she imagined what that person's influence would mean for this land, the animals, and the campers.

"EEEEEEheehehehhehYEAH!" The sudden cry was startling, as was the equally sudden 'thump' behind her as a certain energetic red-head landed on the forest floor. "Oh wow, this place is amazing! _Totally_ different from Wawanakwa, don't you think? It's all _pristine_ and _cared for_ and stuff. Although it doesn't have any of those really cool mutant animals that Wawankwa had. Ooh, I wonder if they have any badgers? I love badgers, they're all 'Grr, I'm a badger! I'm gonna getcha!' Do they do that? Yeah, I think they do! But yeah, I can't wait to compete again, it'll be so much _fun_! See ya later!"

Nearly speechless, Dawn watched the other girl leap into the trees and swing away. Taking a deep breath, she stood up. _'It's time to go back to the camp anyways.'_ she told herself, walking back to where she was expected.

* * *

As much as she enjoyed talking to the other contestants, Zoey couldn't help but notice one of the girls sitting alone, staring at the entrance to the Mess in uncharacteristic silence. Knowing full well the pain of not having friends, she quickly excused herself.

"Hey, uh, Staci, right?" she asked the pudgier girl, "Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

"Huh?" Staci said, noticing the redhead. "Oh, yah, I'm just, like, waiting for Dawn to come back from her walk. I wanted to, like, ask her something."

"Wait, Dawn is here?" Zoey said, immediately looking around to see if the blonde had entered without her or Staci noticing.

"Yah, she arrived just after I did. She, uh, said something to me and then went into the woods I think."

The two girls were approached by a portly young black man with an earring, a backwards baseball cap, and a friendly smirk. B had entered shortly after Noah, but his silence and the fact that he'd only befriended a few of his former teammates had left him relatively unnoticed. He pointed at a point just between the two girls, and then waved.

"Uh, I'm sorry?" Zoey said, confused.

"He says that I'm behind you, and also hi." The sudden voice made Zoey and Staci jump. Dawn just smiled and waved at them. "Hello B, hello Zoey, hello again Staci."

"Uh, h-how did you..." the redhead began.

"We, like, totally didn't see you come in! Are you a magician? My great-great-grandpa invented magic, you know."

"Oh," Dawn replied quickly, "I just used a different entrance. By the way, I think Staci, B, and I should go introduce ourselves to the other campers. I know Zoey would like to go see how Mike is dealing with everyone."

"Uh, yeah! Let's go do that!" Zoey said, deciding she was fine with what Dawn had just said. "I-if that's okay with you guys." The four rejoined the larger conversation between DJ, Cameron, Mike, Gwen, Duncan, Lightning, Harold, Leshawna, Brick, Beth, Anne Maria, and Noah. Heather, having been thrashed by Anne Maria, was sulking in a corner fixing her make-up, while Eva and Jo remained deadlocked in their silent competition.

* * *

The conversation had returned to the subject of who wouldn't show up. There were only a few people left to consider, besides those like Geoff, Bridgette, and the other Drama Brothers who the group already knew wouldn't be coming. Additionally, Beth had told everyone that Lindsay and Tyler weren't coming either – apparently, Tyler had decided to take his girlfriend on another trip to France.

"Who cares about the two airheads," Duncan said, "I just hope Courtney's not going to be on the show again."

"Mmm, yeah," Gwen agreed, semi-reluctantly. "I mean, part of me really wants to make things cool with her, but, like, I know she's just going to make it difficult. Maybe it's for the better if we don't have to deal with her anymore." The rest of the group, or at least those who knew Courtney, agreed.

"What about Katie and Sadie?" Owen asked. "Has anyone heard if they're in the game?"

"Those two white girls?" Leshawna answered, clearly annoyed by some memory of the two. "They're followin' the Drama Brothers. I saw them at a couple shows, crushin' hard on Trent and Justin."

"Pff, whatever," Heather added from outside the group circle, "those two shared a brain. It's not like it's any great loss if they decided to be groupies for some loser boy band."

"What did you just say?" Leshawna said, standing up and approaching her long-time enemy. "I'd rather have those two _groupies_ here than _you_! And the 'Drama Brothers' _ain't_ a bunch a' _losers_, got it?"

"Yeah," Harold added, "don't insult us just because we're way more successful than you've ever been." His smugness dropped in an instant once he remembered he was still mad at his former band-mates. Leshawna just smirked at the sight of her Harold showing that he still cared.

"Mister Tuggman! Miss Milton! Glad to see you've made it, and that you're doing well." The other contestants paused their conversation when they heard the voice on the loudspeaker again. As it gave the two newcomers directions to the Mess Hall, the group quickly figured out who had just shown up.

"Milton...isn't that Dakota's last name?" Zoey asked.

"I guess that means Sam's here too, huh?" Mike added. "I can't really see Dakota coming back on the show without him, after what happened."

"I'm surprised they're back at all!" Cameron exclaimed.

"Yeah!" a gruff voice called from the hallway, attracting the attention of most of the campers. "We weren't going to compete at first, but..."

"Dakota!" Zoey interrupted in a shock, "you look so, so..."

"Normal?" the slender blonde said with a sheepish smile. Indeed, she had somehow reverted from the monstrous form she'd acquired at the end of 'Revenge of the Island'. Dakota Milton now stood, alongside her scruffy-as-ever boyfriend Sam, as the picture of good health.

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to tell you," Sam continued, not looking up from his Game Guy, "we weren't going to compete until Dakota's doctors managed to get her awesome monster form under control."

"So...you're okay now? No chance of turning into a monster again?" Zoey hesitantly asked.

"Err...n-not quite..." Dakota said, downcast and anxious.

"Nah, they couldn't totally get rid of it, but she can transform almost at-will now. It's _really_ cool." Sam explained, actually turning his eyes away from his game to put his arm around his girlfriend.

"Aww, thanks!" Dakota said, kissing Sam's cheek. "And the best part is that, after talking with my agent, I can _definitely_ turn this whole 'mutant' thing into an acting career! Isn't that great?" She was practically squealing in excitement at the thought. Her phone beeped, though, distracting her before Zoey or anyone else could congratulate her. "Oh! It's from Nikki..."

As Dakota and Sam got settled in, the idle chatter picked up again amongst most of the contestants. Those who bothered to count the number of contestants grew anxious, realizing that almost everyone who could show up had, meaning that the game itself would begin soon.

"So, uh, what do you think the new host is gonna be like?" Beth asked, a question that had been on every camper's mind at some point since they agreed to compete.

"I'm more concerned about Izzy." Brick said, Cameron shuddering at fear just from the name. "She hasn't come to check up on her things in...almost an hour!" the cadet continued, checking his watch.

"Oh, I'm certain she'll turn up.." Dawn stated, not out of any supernatural knowledge, but just an educated guess.

"Well, uh, don't look now, but I think she's about to turn up." Noah said, gesturing at the windows along the side of the Mess opposite from the main doors. The campers that saw in time scrambled to get away from the wall.

"YEEHAHHAHAHAH!" the redhead yelled, crashing through the remarkably thin wall between two open windows. "Yeah! That was great!" Izzy remarked, shaking off the debris like a dog shaking off water. Owen, excited to see his ex-girlfriend for the first time in what felt to him like far too long, stood up. Before he could rush over to hug her, though, he was interrupted by a deep, commanding, yet oddly familiar voice.

"Miss MacTaggart!" It was the voice that had been on the loudspeaker. "If you feel the need to enter in a nontraditional fashion, please refrain from causing property damage in doing so!"

Standing at the entrance to the Mess was an older, bald black man, about the same height as Chef but with a much better posture and a much slimmer build. He wore glasses and was dressed in a butler's uniform, giving the impression of a very strict and formal person. The sudden appearance of this stranger was a surprise, but not nearly as much as those he brought with him.

The first was another redhead, this one male and distinctly grumpy. "Yeah, I'm back." he said, glaring at the other contestants, especially the enemies he'd made. "And I'm out of that stupid 'Trauma Chair' too!" Indeed, Scott had recovered from his post-elimination mauling fairly well in the couple of months since the end of season four, only needing a single crutch to get around. He carried his bags to one of the unoccupied tables but did not put them down.

The second contestant to arrive alongside the butler was even more shocking. "Yes, my friends, I too have recovered from my harrowing ordeal," the other young man said. Despite being wheelchair-bound, Alejandro seemed to have retained his optimism, his charms, and most of his good looks. If anything, the handful of burns and scars he now sported made him look even more rugged. As he looked over the crowd of mostly-gaping fellow campers, it was clear that the Spaniard was still a tough competitor.

"I hope you can forgive my actions during season three," he said with a charming smile aimed mostly at the girls. "My loss, near-death experience, and being..." he shuddered, "_trapped_ within a robot have left me with much time to think, and I have seen the error of my ways." He flashed another smile, but the group looked either skeptical, unimpressed, or simply undecided. Sighing, he wheeled himself over to Heather.

"Heather, I hope we can put our past behind us." he said hopefully.

"Hmmph." Heather scoffed. "Whatever, loser."

As Alejandro moved away from his former flame, the butler stepped out of the doorway and turned to someone hiding behind him.

"Mister Martin, you may enter the room now," he said with a kind smile. "I promise that the others won't harm you."

"I-if you say so, eh." Slowly, shakily, the young man took a step into the room. He had long ago discarded his ragged old clothes, but his style remained basically the same. Between the green tinge to his skin, the lack of hair peaking out from beneath his toque, and the points of his teeth, it was clear that Ezekiel hadn't made a full physical recovery from his experiences during seasons three and four. "He-hello, everyone...! I, uh, I guess I'm back in the game, eh?" He smiled very nervously, not taking a single step away from the butler who'd placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Zeke? It's, uh.." DJ was the first to speak, but it seemed that was all he could think to say.

"...so good to see you!" Beth finished after a moment's pause. "Welcome back!" Smiling, she stepped forward a few paces, only stopping when she noticed Zeke looking too scared to move.

"Zeke! Dude!" Owen, never one to notice social discomfort, charged forward and seized a startled and panicked homeschooler in a hug. A gasp from Zeke made Owen remember his earlier scolding. "Yeah, sorry, I _really_ need to stop doing that," the gentle giant said, setting his latest victim down. "But it's just so good to see you! You look great, dude!"

"Uh...th-thanks..." Ezekeiel coughed, eyes darting from contestant to contestant, and back to the butler he apparently trusted so much.

"So, Zeke," DJ said, having finally figured out something to say to the little guy. "What made you decide to come back on the show? Still lookin' to win that million?"

Zeke said nothing for a moment, only looking back to the butler. The man nodded, and Zeke took a deep and calming breath. "It was my therapist, eh. She thought I should try to, uh, 'come to terms' with, like, the show, an' you guys, an' stuff."

"Hmm," the butler muttered with a smile, "I'll leave you some time to get reacquainted, then." Sighing, he checked his watch and cleared his throat. "Attention, please!" he called, drawing all but two pairs of eyes to him. "Thank you all for coming to Camp Wild Lake. In ten minutes, we will be having a mandatory meeting in the main auditorium to discuss the changes to the rules, and to introduce the host and other staff. You can get there by taking the second left off the lobby; the door at the end of that hallway leads to the main auditorium. Feel free to leave your belongings here, we will ensure they are not disturbed." He looked over the campers, and decided that most of them had understood the directions.

"Thank you." Turning on his heel, the butler left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

At long last, the second chapter has arrived. As I mentioned in the first chapter, I've already more-or-less finished Chapter 3, but I will refrain from posting it until Chapter 4 is complete. I expect Chapter 4 to be shorter than either this chapter or the next, so hopefully I'll get it out before the end of the month.

I have also gone back and edited Chapter 1 a bit today, mostly the line breaks that weren't properly included in the original upload. If you catch any other mistakes in any chapter I've posted, both in terms of spelling/grammar or with characters acting OOC, feel free to let me know.

With respect to the reviewers:

**Starryoak****:** I do intend to focus a bit on Zeke, Scott, and Alejandro's recovery, but with 23 other campers plus OCs to focus on as well, it won't be all the time.

**Videsa****:** Thank you so much! I do intend to have some AleHeather moments, although whether they officially become a couple hasn't been decided yet - I want this story to evolve naturally, so if I decide they would realistically get the couple upgrade at some point in time, I'll give it to them. Likewise, although Gwen and Duncan are currently together for the time being, if I find myself in a situation where either is no longer happy with their relationship, I won't hesitate to break them up. I'm actually rather neutral in terms of that section of the TD shipping complex.

Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy the story.

- Fangren

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Ace of Coins, Upright**

[Mess Hall, Main Lodge of Camp Wild Lake]

The tall black butler left the hall, giving the twenty-six campers another few minutes to chat before a mandatory pre-show meeting. Aside from Jo and Eva, still embroiled in their silent arm-wrestling match, the assembled contestants remained in a state of awkwardness. Ezekiel, one of the most generally disliked amongst them, had returned to the show after being retrieved from his feral state, and it seemed nobody really knew what to say to him.

"So, uh, what's the deal with that butler?" Duncan said finally. He didn't look any of the three newest arrivals in the eyes, but it was obvious who he was asking.

"I...admit that I do not know myself." Alejandro answered, peering at the now-empty doorway. "He met Scott, Ezekiel, and myself at the gate and escorted us here. He did not give us his name."

"Ugh, all he even _said_ was that 'you boys shouldn't worry, we'll make sure that your rehabilitation will proceed as scheduled during the competition'." Scott added mockingly. "Like I was even hurt that badly!" The farm boy threw away his crutch, took a step, and fell over.

"Hey!" Zeke said angrily. "He was just looking out for us, eh!"

"Well, I think he seemed pretty nice." Beth said.

"Yeah," DJ added, "he even gave everybody directions on where to go. You know Chris woulda _never_ done that."

"Pfft." Duncan scoffed. "I don't trust him. He looks too uptight _not_ to be suspicious! I mean come on, the dude's a _butler_!"

"Well, maybe if this game is murder-themed, I could see him being a suspect." Harold replied. "But I think we would've been told beforehand if that was the case."

"You mean like every _other_ season where we were specifically _not_ told about whatever gimmick until we arrived?" Heather said.

"Well, it's not like Chris or any of the old producers are involved." Harold responded. "I mean, did you even read your new contract? Gosh!"

"Ooh!" Izzy exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and down. "Maybe the butler's actually a secret _alien spy_! Oh oh, and the new season is just an excuse to abduct us and take us back to their home planet! Wouldn't that be exciting?"

"Uh, sure." Gwen said, backing away from the girl. "I'm with Duncan, something's up. Even if the show really does have new producers or whatever, I don't think they'd be completely straight with us on everything."

"Well, I'm gonna trust him. I mean, he can't be as bad as _Chris_, can he?" DJ stated.

"Hey, not to interrupt our little love-fest, but shouldn't we get going?" Noah said, checking his watch. "Don't wanna miss that meeting where they'll actually _tell us_ something instead of letting us make baseless speculations."

The other campers, for the most part, agreed. One by one the campers got up and made their way out into the halls, with a few lingering behind.

"Hmm?" Dawn asked of B, who had given her a questioning glance. "You want to know what I think of the man?" B nodded.

Dawn took a moment to think before answering. "I think he's a good person. He does have his secrets, but I didn't see any mischief or malice in his aura." B smiled and gave his friend a thumbs up. The two left the Mess together.

"Excuse me ladies, but it's time for us to leave. We've got a meeting soon, and we shouldn't miss it." Brick said, although his request seemed to be ignored by the dueling girls.

"Wow, they've really been at it for awhile now, huh?" Owen said, wandering over with a bag of chips in hand.

"It appears as though they're evenly matched, but neither wants to concede." Brick guessed, studying Jo and Eva's unmoving arms.

"Perhaps it would be best if you simply decided to postpone your match?" Alejandro suggested, wheeling himself over. "That way, neither of you would be the loser. And you two wouldn't want to jeopardize your spots in the competition over this, would you?"

For the first time since the match began, Jo and Eva broke their gaze. It was only for a millisecond to glance at Alejandro, but it was a change. Yet even then, they did not break their grip.

"Hmm. I see." Alejandro said, stroking his chin. "Very well then, if neither of you is willing to break your grip, then we will have to do it simultaneously. My friends?" he gestured to Owen and Brick, "please grab hold of these two fierce competitors. Then on the count of three, the ladies will release their grip, and you gentlemen will pull them apart."

Owen and Brick shared a hesitant look, but took up their places – Brick behind Jo, and Owen behind Eva once he'd finished his chips and tossed the bag away.

"One..." Alejandro began once the two were in position. "Two...three!" as he shouted, the other two boys pulled hard. Surprisingly, the girls had complied, and the two pairs fell to the floor.

"Let go of me!" Eva shouted, punching Owen and getting up.

"Don't touch me!" Jo followed suit. She glared at her new rival, but turned and left the room. Eva followed shortly.

"Thanks!" Brick saluted his wheelchair-bound fellow camper, and the three young men were the last to leave the Mess.

* * *

The main auditorium was larger than the other campers had expected, large enough that it could probably have been its own building. Though most of the lights were focused on the stage at the opposite end of the main doors, the campers could make out the features and details of the room well enough to navigate without problem. The stage was the clear focus of the room; all the stadium-style seating curved around it so that the audience would be able to see the show regardless of where they sat. The aisles between seating sections were sloped gently enough to allow Alejandro and Scott to get around freely, and once the contestants got close enough to the stage they saw that there was a proper gallery above the main seats.

"Excellent!" Came a voice from backstage. The butler came out into the spotlight, microphone in hand, and beckoned to them. "Come, come! Please have a seat in front, preferably close together." There were a few grumbles about not wanting to sit next to anyone, but the campers did as they were told. Once they'd all taken their seats (with Alejandro being closest due to the position of the wheelchair-accessible seating), the butler smiled.

"Good, good," he said, taking something out of his pocket. "I suppose now is the time to introduce you to the cameras we'll be using this season." Pointing the remote he'd produced at the gallery and pressing a button, the confused teens gasped when they saw what would apparently be filming them.

One by one, three whirring camera-like _somethings_ flew out from the gallery, and began flitting about the room. One focused on the butler at center stage while the other two pointed themselves at the campers; all three had a single blinking red light just below the lens.

"Amazing!" Cameron said, as one of the cameras flew in for close-ups of the campers and passed him. "I've never seen such advanced robotics before!"

"They're kinda...creepy." Gwen said as the close-up cam passed by her and Duncan, who snarled at it.

"Yes, they can take some getting used to," the butler explained. "There are several more than these three, of course, so that we have maximum film coverage. They are robotic, of course, and incredibly expensive, so please do not damage them." He paused to send a stern gaze out to the audience, but softened up and continued. "Incidentally, footage from the one that is, ah, invading your personal space right now will be used for the first episode's reintroduction of you all. It may take a couple of passes, so try to act natural when it comes by again."

Looking out at the crowd, he could see that some of the campers didn't seem to like the cam-bots. It was disappointing, but he told himself that it may make the footage better and that he should press forward.

"Now, I believe some introductions are in order!" He said, and regained the attention of several campers. "My name is Gordon Dubois, butler and aide to this year's host! Please give a warm welcome to..." he bowed and stepped off the spotlight, gesturing to stage right. Most of the lights went off, only leaving those pointed at center stage and stage right. "Miss Chelsea Goodhoste!"

Most of the contestants applauded, whether genuinely or grudgingly, as the woman came out. She was a blonde, blue-eyed, conventionally beautiful white woman, wearing a simple knee-length white dress and a bright smile. Some contestants were reminded of Blaineley O'Halloran, former host of Total Drama Aftermath and unexpected contestant. Blaineley, however, had been in a coma since the events of season three, and Chelsea Goodhoste had a completely different demeanor. Whereas Blaineley had been confident, mischievous, and utterly full of herself, Chelsea just seemed impossibly cheerful. Most of the contestants didn't know what to make of her.

"Hi everyone!" she called from her own mic once she had taken center stage. "Welcome to Total Drama Rebirth! I'm your host, Chelsea Goodhoste!" She paused, looking over the campers with that same happy smile on her face. "Wow, it's so great to be here, isn't it? The fifth season of Total Drama is going to be so exciting, we've got a new camp, new staff, new rules, and our beloved veteran contestants!" She paused again. "As you'll all come to find out, Camp Wild Lake is 400 acres of beautiful land, combining both state-of-the-art camp facilities and nearly untouched wilderness suitable for a variety of both recreational activities and challenges! The twenty-six of you will be spending seven weeks here, and I hope you enjoy every minute of it!" Most of the teens scoffed or rolled their eyes, unwilling to consider that they might actually enjoy the game for once.

"Now, before we discuss the rules changes," Chelsea continued, "I'd like to introduce another important member of our staff. Ever since the show changed hands and a new staff was announced, we've had one question in particular come up over and over again. The producers have kept the answer to this question vague, but I'm proud to finally introduce the new Camp Chef!" As with Chelsea's introduction, the lights focused on stage right, although the host did not move from her spot. "Please welcome Chef Morgan LeFayman!"

A slender, brown-skinned figure dressed in a full chef's uniform emerged from backstage, walking slightly quickly over to Chelsea but with their face to the audience. Chef Morgan accepted Chelsea's mic, and began a nervous introduction.

"Uh, hello! Glad to meet all of you. I'm, uh, I'm Chef Morgan, as Chelsea said, and I'll be preparing the food this season. Don't worry, though, unlike Chef Hatchet I'm actually a certified Master Chef who won't just cook whatever slop is lying around and serve it for breakfast. Umm..." Obviously not used to being on stage like Chelsea or Gordon, Chef Morgan paused a bit too long for the hostess's liking.

"Thank you so much, Chef Morgan!" Chelsea said, covering for her coworker's awkwardness. "Now, I'm sure you've got a lot of work to do, so I'll let you go, okay?" Chef Morgan nodded and left quickly, long brown braid of hair trailing behind.

"Now that we've introduced some of the important new staff members, I think it's about time we got down to the new rules." Smiling as always, she turned to her butler. "Gordon, if you please?"

"Naturally." Gordon said, hopping off the stage while carrying a pile of booklets. "What I'm about to pass out to you all is this season's complete rulebook, as well as a map of the camp and tentative schedule of challenge days. As with previous seasons, challenge specifics will generally remain a secret until the day they take place." As he spoke, we walked up and down the aisles, handing rulebooks out to all twenty-six campers. "Now, I'll let you all read the finer details on your own time, but there's three topics which have received important changes: Teams, Eliminations, and Winning the Game."

He paused, letting that little taste of the new rules sink in. Once Gordon saw he'd gotten everyone's full attention, and had gotten back on stage, he continued. "First, there will be no set teams this season. We have decided that it'll be more interesting if you're not always working with the same group of people in each challenge. Naturally, the teams will usually be left to either my or Chelsea's discretion, although we will allow you to pick your own groups now and then."

"Pfft, Lightning doesn't care!" the jock said smugly. "Lightning _always_ carries the team, no matter who's on it!"

"Ah, yes," Gordon said, looking amused at the young man's outburst. "Be that as it may, Mister Jackson, please do not interrupt in the future." Gordon paused to clear his throat. "Moving on to the next topic, eliminations. To be blunt, there will be none." Many of the contestants, especially those who'd been daydreaming of eliminating an old enemy or two, gasped. "Unless you willingly drop out of the competition or are forced to leave due to health or legal issues, all twenty-six of you will still be in the game on the final day. This, of course, leads into the third topic of interest: how to win the game. Since it is impossible to win by being the last camper standing, we have decided to implement a point system. Throughout the season, you'll have opportunities to earn – or lose – points, typically through challenges. At the end of the season, competitors will win $100 for each point they've earned, with an additional $500,000 awarded to the contestant with the highest point total at that time. In the case of a zero or negative point score, that contestant will earn nothing."

Once again, Gordon paused to let the rules sink in. Drawing himself into a more serious posture and visage, he continued. "Naturally this means that all of you could go home millionaires – or you could all go home with nothing. It all depends on how you perform and the choices you make. Are there any questions?"

Immediately, Noah's hand shot up. Ignoring the looks of his friends, he stood up once Gordon gestured for him to speak. "You implied that points could be earned _outside_ of challenges. Care to elaborate?"

"Thank you for asking, Mister Singh. You are correct, it will be possible to earn points outside of challenges. Those points will be given out by either Chelsea, Chef Morgan, or myself, as we see fit. I won't tell you the exact criteria each of us will be using, but I will say that barring extraordinary circumstances the points awarded this way will never be as great as the points earned during challenges. Is that all Mister Singh?"

"No, that's it. Thanks." Noah said, sitting down. He began looking through his copy of the rules at once, and he was not the only one to do so.

"Any other questions?" Gordon asked, scanning the audience and giving the teens ample time to think. Finally, one of the campers raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Campbell?" Gordon said, pointing at a standing Zoey.

"Um, sorry, but how are we going to decide where we sleep if we don't have team cabins?" The red-head said, confidence boosted by numerous others murmuring their own concerns over the sleeping arrangements.

"I'm so glad you asked that!" Chelsea said, taking the question with a smile. "That, campers, will be our very first challenge!" She snapped her gaze to the cam-bot filming the stage. "What will the challenge be? Who will be forced to bunk with who? Find out after the break, on Total Drama Rebirth!" she held her pose for a moment, before gesturing for the camera to cut and letting out her breath. The red lights on the three cameras turned off, and the robots flew back up to the gallery.

The campers who were expecting Chelsea Goodhoste's demeanor to change once the cameras were off her were surprised; she remained just as cheerful and smiling as she had been, if a bit more relaxed. "Again, I want to thank you all for coming and competing this season, especially since I know most of you probably have some bad memories associated with the show. Don't worry though – even though we're contractually obligated to stir up drama, you have my word that we won't endanger you like Chris McLean did." She looked out at the campers, and saw a mixture of awkwardness and justifiable skepticism. "Now, let's take a break for, say, an hour. Feel free to read the rules and explore a bit, but please don't leave the Main Lodge until we've finished setting up the challenge."

She and Gordon began to walk off stage, before Chelsea stopped mid-stride. "Oh gosh, we forgot to explain the confessional!" She quickly went back to center stage and called the camper's attention again. "Sorry, one last thing! This season, you'll be able to make a confessional at any time or place by calling over one of the cameras and saying 'I want to confess something', and then saying 'I'm done' when you're done! You'll have to ensure your own privacy before you do so, though. Oh, and I'll have to ask a couple of you to just explain a bit of that in your first confessional, for the viewer's sake. You don't have to go into detail about the activation phrase, just say that you'll be able to make confessionals anywhere or something. We'll use whichever is best for the show. Any volunteers?"

"Ooh, I'll do it!" Beth called out first, jumping up and down with her hand raised high.

"Thank you, Beth. Anyone else?" Chelsea said.

"Uh, I guess I can do it?" Gwen said hesitantly, earning a questioning look from her boyfriend.

Alejandro paused, as if he had thought of something. "I would like to do so as well. I believe three people should be enough to get a good explanation?"

"Yes, thank you Gwen, Alejandro. That should be enough." Chelsea said, clearly grateful. "You can go now, but be sure not to leave the Main Lodge." Still smiling, Chelsea Goodhoste finally left the stage. Likewise, the campers began to mill about, some leaving the auditorium, others staying put to talk with theirs friends and allies.

* * *

Zoey, Mike, and Cameron were among those who had hung back, as Zoey had noticed another girl still staring at the stage.

"Is something wrong, Dawn?" she asked her blonde friend.

"N-no..." Dawn replied, still obviously distracted. She shook her head as if to clear it, then looked around. Noticing the strange looks that Zoey, Mike, and Cameron were giving her, she stood up. "Umm, I have to use the, uh...girl's room! I'll talk to you later, Zoey, but thank you for your concern."

Dawn began a brisk walk to the door, just stopping at the threshold. "Oh, Mike, I forgot to congratulate you on reaching an accord with most of your other personalities." She smiled at the boy and hurried off.

"..._most_ of my personalities?" Mike said in confusion, getting equally confused looks from his friend and girlfriend.

* * *

"So what made you decide to help blonde-and-smiley?" Duncan asked his lover once they'd gotten away from the auditorium.

"I dunno," Gwen said, scratching the back of her head. "I just...I guess I didn't really wanna leave her hanging, she actually seems pretty decent. _Annoying_, but decent. Plus, I figure I can do a better job than Beth."

"Hah! Yeah," Duncan snorted, "she'll probably get too excited and say something stupid."

"Heh." Gwen chuckled. "Well, anyway, why do you think Alejandro volunteered? I don't think he did so out of the kindness of his heart."

"I know, babe. The dude's a schemer, he's probably doing it to get in good with the new host or...something." Duncan stopped walking, and slapped his forehead. "Crap! Why didn't I think of that!"

"What, getting in good with the host?" Gwen replied, confusion quickly fading as she too had a realization. "Oh, damn! She'll probably give points to the people who helped her! Good thing I volunteered, I guess."

"Yeah, well, whatever." Duncan said, brushing off his momentary disappointment. "Even if I'd known that earlier, I still wouldn't have done it." He smirked at Gwen. "Now come on, let's go find somewhere..._private_."

The lovers smiled at each other, and walked off.

* * *

Surprising nobody, there was very little to do in the Main Lodge once it had been sufficiently explored. Aside from the Mess and auditorium, most of the rooms seemed to be either offices or small meeting rooms, and nearly all were locked and dark. There was a large and well-maintained infirmary, but there wasn't a doctor or nurse in sight. Eventually, most of the campers settled down somewhere to discuss the changes to the game, some even figuring out how to get onto the gallery in the auditorium. Outside, the campers would occasionally see a cam-bot or someone they assumed to be an intern walking around, but there was no clue what they were really doing.

Finally, the hour wait was up, and the campers once again heard Gordon Dubois' voice over the loudspeaker. "Attention campers! Please report to the South Fire Pit for the first challenge!"

Unlike previous announcements no directions were given, forcing most of the campers to consult their maps. There seemed to be four clusters of cabins just to the north of the Main Lodge, and in the center of each was space for a camp fire. The clusters were labeled 'North', 'South', 'East', and 'West', so it was clear where they were meant to go – the fire pit in the center of the southernmost group of cabins.

The campers still in the auditorium were the first to arrive, as it was the closest part of the Main Lodge to the cabins and had a couple of newly-unlocked exits to the outside. Noah, Owen, and Anne Maria came first, followed shortly by B, Ezekiel, and Lightning who had all been in the gallery. Izzy was next, having somehow gotten onto the roof and jumping down from there. The others filtered out from wherever they had been; first Alejandro, then Scott, Staci, Gwen and Duncan, Jo, Heather, Cameron Mike and Zoey, Harold and Leshawna. DJ came out with Beth, Eva, and Brick, followed by Sam and Dakota, and lastly came Dawn.

Chelsea, Gordon, and many cam-bots were waiting for them. Gordon had taken off his coat and was holding a clipboard, noting the arrival of each contestant. Once everyone was accounted for, he nudged Chelsea and motioned for the cameras to start filming.

"Welcome to the South Cabins, everyone!" Chelsea began with her usual cheer. "As you've probably guessed, each of you will be staying in one of these five cabins during the game. Figuring out exactly _which_ cabin brings us to our first challenge!" She threw up her arms as if to cheer along with the campers, but they just looked at her funny. Quickly moving on, smile never leaving her face, Chelsea turned to her butler. "Gordon, if you'd be so kind?"

"Certainly." Gordon replied, withdrawing an envelope from his pocket. "Scattered throughout the campgrounds are twenty-six envelopes like this one. In each is...," he opened the envelope and took out, "...a card like this." He held it up and showed both sides to the players so they could see what it looked like; it was the Two of Hearts. "You are each to find an envelope and bring it back; the cards inside are the Ace through Six of each suit, as well as the black and red Jokers. Each group of four campers with the same number must share a cabin. Groups with different numbers may share the same cabin, so long as the combined group has no more than four boys and four girls." He paused a moment to let them process the rules. "For example, if the Aces are found by three boys and one girl, they may share a cabin with any other group that has one boy and three girls."

"What about the Jokers?" Jo called out.

"After all other groups have decided where they will be sleeping, the Jokers will be allowed to sleep in any of the five cabins which has an open space for them." Gordon said without missing a beat. "The envelopes will not be located in any building. You may help another camper retrieve an envelope, but you may not open the envelopes until the challenge is over. Any other questions?" With nothing after nearly a minute, the butler continued. "Okay then. Once you have your envelope, please meet back here. You may begin!"

Some of the campers immediately ran off in search of an envelope, while others took a much more relaxed pace; each was followed by one of the cam-bots. Beth lingered the longest, eying the envelope – and newly replaced Two of Hearts – that Gordon was still holding.

"Umm, Mr. Dubois? Can I have that one?" She asked.

Gordon cocked and eyebrow and smirked slightly. "Yes you may, Miss St. Clair." He stepped forward and handed the envelope to the short and giddy girl.

"WHAT?" Heather cried out angrily from a nearby bush. "You mean she gets a card just by _asking_?"

"Yup!" Chelsea answered with a smile. "Nobody said she couldn't, or that Gordon's envelope doesn't count. By the way, I don't have an envelope, so there's no point in asking me for one."

Heather growled in hate and rage, and stomped away. Leshawna, who had been searching nearby with Harold, just laughed at her. "Hey Beth!" she called, "mind givin' me an' Harold a hand now that you got your card?"

"Sure!" Beth said happily. "But I have to go do something else first, I'll be right back!"

* * *

[[Confession Cam – Beth]]

"Hi!" Beth said, closer to the camera than she needed to be. "First confessional of the new season, I'm so excited! So, anyway, Chelsea almost forgot to tell us earlier, but we can make confessionals to _any_ of the flying camera-robot-things following us around."

She paused, biting her lip for an awkward moment. "So, yeah, the new host seems _so_ much better than Chris. I think I've got a pretty good shot at winning again. Although, I guess I won't be the only winner this season, huh?"

Beth smiled awkwardly for another bit before remembering how to end the confessional.

[[Confession Cam – Alejandro]]

In a different part of the camp, Alejandro looked around one last time to see if anyone had followed him. "According to our new host, we'll be able to make confessionals at any time or place. I must say, this is much more convenient than Chris' decision to use a _restroom_, even if we do have to ensure our own privacy. As for the game itself, although I do look forward to making up for my...admittedly embarrassing defeat last year, I must admit that these new rules will prove a challenge. Without a vote to manipulate, I'll have to rethink my strategy."

He looked around again, although he focused on the buildings rather than potential eavesdroppers. "Hopefully they were kind enough to hide one of the cards in a wheelchair-accessible area."

[[Confession Cam – Gwen]]

The goth girl looked uncertain as she stared at the camera. Behind her, Duncan can be seen searching the bushes and trees for envelopes.

"So, uhh, apparently we can do confessionals wherever we want now, so here it goes." Gwen took a deep breath. "On one hand, I'm excited about all the new rules. I mean, I don't have to worry about me or Duncan getting voted off, so we'll be able to spend a lot more time together, and we're pretty much guaranteed to win _something_. Maybe not a million dollars, but if I can get enough to help pay for university, I'll be happy."

She held a grin for a few seconds, before getting irked. "Unfortunately, it also means I'll have to put up with _Heather_ and a bunch of other egomaniacs for _seven weeks_."

* * *

Dawn walked quietly through the woods, alone besides the camera trailing her silently, focusing on the challenge so she didn't have to think about what she'd seen. Fortunately, she had always been soothed by nature, and the task at hand was enough to preoccupy her mind. It wasn't that she was having difficulty finding envelopes; she could tell by the slight disturbances in the natural energies where something foreign had been placed. Rather, she was trying to decide which one to take.

It wasn't an easy task at all; she didn't have any sort of divination medium and natural omens, though abundant if you knew where to look, were always the vaguest. There was also the unreliability of predicting the future that she'd come to accept as innate regardless of method. Still, she could at least get a general feeling from each envelope, and could use that to decide.

Dawn stopped and looked around – there were three envelopes nearby. One was buried in the leaves, and gave her an unnerving chill. Another was hanging in a tree, partially hidden by the branches – she thought it might prove good for herself. The third was at the entrance of a rabbit hole underneath a shrub – it was also a good pick, but it seemed like her picking it would be better for others than for herself.

Her decision was interrupted by the snapping of a fallen branch. She turned around to see a young black man with a rather nice-looking greenish aura. It was obvious from even a cursory reading that he loved nature and all things in it, despite past incidents. The cameras following the two flew around to positions where they wouldn't be filming each other.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." DJ said, taking his foot off the branch but otherwise keeping a bit of distance. "You're, uh, Dawn, right? Found any cards yet?"

"Yes, I believe so." Dawn answered, walking over to a nearby shrub and kneeling down. "Excuse the intrusion," she whispered, picking an envelope out from a rabbit hole. As she made to get up, one of the rabbits came up and chittered something to the girl.

"What's that?" Dawn asked, not noticing DJ trying to get a closer look. "Oh, I see. Thank you!" The blonde stood up, waving at the rabbit who quickly went back in its home.

"Were you just talkin' to that rabbit?" DJ asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh yes," Dawn replied with a nod, "he said that there's another card in a mink den at the edge of the lake. I can take you there if you want?"

"That'd be really cool, thanks!" DJ smiled, and the two took off.

* * *

"Hmm..." Alejandro had wheeled himself back to the entrance of the camp, still looking for an envelope he could easily reach. He'd overheard Heather's cry of delight as she found one on a windowsill of all places, so the Spaniard had hoped to find one in a similar place. Unfortunately, he hadn't been so lucky.

He heard a rustling noise nearby, which he quickly found the cause of. Kneeling before a cluster of bushes was Anne Maria, clearly looking for a card. She'd apparently had some luck, withdrawing from the bushes moments later, envelope in hand. Standing up, the Jersey girl took out a can of hairspray and, after spraying her camera for getting too close, began her routine maintenance.

"Ooh, hello there...," she said upon noticing Alejandro, giving the wheelchair-bound young man an appraising look. "What can I do for _you_, hot stuff?"

"Well, I was going to offer my assistance in searching for cards, but it is clear that you don't need my help." Alejandro said, wheeling himself closer. "Still, I was hoping if you'd be willing to give me a hand instead. Your obviously good eyesight would be of great help in finding my own card." He shot the girl his most dashing look, making her swoon.

"Sure!" Anne Maria said, putting away her spray. "I saw one on the flagpole before, but I ain't about to climb it."

"Flagpole, you say?" Alejandro said, quickly spotting the fixture. Looking up, he could just make out an envelope flying just beneath the flag of British Columbia. He wheeled himself up to it and touched it.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be greased, so climbing it shouldn't be too difficult, even without the use of my legs." He looked over at Anne Maria, who had followed him. "I trust you'll catch me if I fall?"

"Yeah..." the girl said, clearly focused on Alejandro's muscles rather than his words.

Smirking, Alejandro hoisted himself out of his chair and began climbing. His camera keeping steady pace, the young man thought to himself. He hadn't yet decided exactly how to approach the game, but he was glad to have Anne Maria's assistance. She wasn't as beautiful as Heather, but he was glad that not all of the contestants were immune to his charms.

After a couple minutes of effort he reached the envelope. Holding tight with one arm he reached for the envelope, snatching it from the grip of a clothespin. Then, after checking to make sure his wheelchair was still below him, he put the envelope in his shirt and shimmied back down.

* * *

"Urrmm," Dakota whined, "how are we supposed to get _that_?" The envelope in question was hanging far out-of-reach from the end of a high branch in a tall tree. The heiress scrunched up her face, trying to figure out how they were expected to get up that high.

"You know, you could probably reach it pretty easily if you transformed." Sam said, also looking up at the envelope.

"Yeah, but I don't wanna ruin my outfit." Dakota pouted.

"Good point, it doesn't look very stretchy," her boyfriend replied. "I guess I'll just have to climb the tree myself then." The gamer walked up to the tree, an old oak, and sized it up. It was very tall, but he was feeling confident.

"Be careful, Sam!" Dakota called out.

"Don't worry!" Sam responded, "I've played over three hundred hours of Lumberjack Simulator on my computer, I'll be fine!" With a grunt, Sam jumped up and began climbing.

To Dakota, it seemed like she was watching her boyfriend climb for ages while she just stood around yelling encouragement and hoping he didn't fall. There were a couple of close calls, but Sam managed to eventually make it to the branch the envelope was hanging from.

"Just...a little...more!" Sam told himself, inching forward on a branch he didn't think could hold his weight for long. He drew closer and closer, until finally he could just manage to reach the string his prize was dangling from. "Got it!" he cried, snatching the envelope.

Predictably, though, his combined weight and effort proved too much for the branch – it snapped, sending the gamer and his trophy plummeting. The camera which had followed his every move zoomed after the young man.

"SAM!" Dakota cried out, running forward but forgetting to transform in her panicked state. Fortunately for the young lovers, Sam's fall was broken by the bushes below.

"Hey!" Sam cried, muffled by the foliage. "I found another card in here! Heheh, I guess I'm pretty lucky."

"Yeah..." Dakota murmured, hugging her scratched-up boyfriend.

* * *

"Aha!" Brick said from within the group of bushes he had been searching. He crawled out and brushed himself. He held the envelope up, and looked at the camera that had followed him. "Found one! Pretty quickly, too. Only had to search about eighteen bushes, I think."

Hearing a rustling behind him, the cadet turned and called out a greeting. "Hello! Need any assistance?"

B glanced at his fellow camper's envelope and then looked around. Smirking, he shook his head and bent down. Brushing away a few leaves revealed another envelope not too far from where Brick had been searching. The strong silent genius then turned and walked away, his own camera keeping what Brick felt was an unusual amount of distance.

"I'd like to confess something."

[[Confession Cam – Brick]]

"I'm honestly not sure what to think of B," the cadet began, still looking in the direction the other young man had been standing. "I mean, he seems like a fine young man and everything, and I trust him, but it's hard to understand someone who never talks. Do you get what I mean?" He looked at the camera, with a half-unsure look on his face.

"And I gotta say that I'm kinda, well, embarrassed at how easily he found that envelope. I mean, I probably walked by it several times without realizing! How'd he find it so quickly when it was clearly well-hidden?"

Brick frowned, and crossed his arms. "Obviously, I should get to know him better." He shot the camera a grin.

* * *

"Hey look! Two of 'em!" Duncan called, pointing at the side of one of the western cabins. As he said, there was an envelope just outside each of two windows.

"Awesome!" Gwen said as the couple broke into a run. "With any luck we'll end up in the same cabin!"

Duncan went for the one on the left, while Gwen bore right. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones headed for those cards, and while the punk got his without trouble, the goth's goal was taken by someone else.

"Hah! Maybe your little _boyfriend_ should've thought before yelling like that." Scott laughed, slipping the envelope into his pocket. Despite his crutch, he had been much closer to the building than Gwen and Duncan had, so it wasn't a challenge to get there first. "Better start looking somewhere else!" He turned back towards the meeting place, barely missing his camera-bot as it flew to get a better angle.

"Damn it!" Gwen cursed, stomping the ground. "I should've seen the little weasel coming!"

"Eh, don't worry about it babe." Duncan said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go check the woods again."

* * *

"Are you, like, sure you don't want my help? I'm really good at finding things, like, my grandfather was a world-famous detective, and he, like, taught me everything he knew." Staci said to the young woman hanging upside-down from the edge of a roof. She herself had already found an envelope near the window of a building near the lake which she figured must be a boathouse. With no one to talk to and nothing better to do, Staci had walked back to the main part of the camp, where she had spotted one of the older contestants.

"Nah, I'm good!" Izzy replied, swinging herself onto the roof of one of the cabins. "I don't need any help finding stuff, even from a world-famous detective! I have, like, _super_ good senses," she cupped her hands around her eyes like she was holding binoculars, "so I'm always spotting things before other people. Or hearing. Or smelling, feeling, and even touching. In fact," looking up from her 'binoculars', her face grew smug. "I've already spotted a few of the envelopes, but they weren't a challenge to get so I left them for other people."

Izzy scanned the forest a bit more, then pointed off at a seemingly random tree. "AHA! There's one!" The redhead jumped down from the roof and bolted off into the forest. Staci just stood there watching the other young woman leave, camera-bot looking a bit scuffed but following nonetheless. Turning towards her own camera, it was clear Staci had been quite weirded out by Izzy.

[[Confession Cam – Staci]]

"What is with all these weird girls? I mean, that red-headed girl, Izzy or whatever, obviously isn't playing with a full deck. Ya, she, like, _totally_ didn't recognize my worth. I mean, my grandfather won _awards_ for his detective work!" The girl paused to take another breath, before continuing on as rapidly as before.

"And when I was talking to Dawn earlier, she had the nerve to call me a _liar_!" Staci paused again, looking anxious. "Ya, okay, maybe I exaggerate sometimes, but so what? It's not like I'm the first one to exaggerate, ya know! Actually," she thought, "I think it was my great-great-great-great-great aunt's third cousin twice removed who invented exaggerating. Before that, everyone's stories were too boring to listen to."

* * *

Not long after Staci's departure from the lake, Dawn and DJ arrived looking for the mink den rumored to hold one of the envelopes. As they began searching the coast, they heard a couple of splashes and the sounds of a definite argument coming from the nearby docks.

"Get out of the way, damn it! I saw it first!" One voice shouted angrily. There were more splashes, but neither DJ nor Dawn could see the cause of the commotion. As they walked closer, though, the location of a cam-bot made it obvious that whoever was arguing was under the dock.

"There's two of the things!" The second voice responded, just as angry as the first. "So get out of _my_ way so I can grab one and _leave_!"

There was more sounds of a scuffle, and then the second voice cheered. Movement in the water suggested that they were coming out from under the docks.

"What are _you_ looking at?" Jo snarled at the two onlookers, soaking wet and clenching an envelope in her fist. Neither Dawn nor DJ said anything, so the jockette got out of the water and ran back towards the main campsite.

Moments later, a very irate Eva emerged from the water on the other side of the dock, also with an envelope. "This isn't over!" she yelled, not giving the other two campers any mind as she ran after her rival.

"Wow." Dawn said once they were out of earshot. "Those two should really focus more on their differences, instead of getting hung up on their similarities. Don't you agree?" She turned to smile at her current companion.

DJ just stood looking warily in the distance, as if Eva might suddenly show up to yell at him. "Yeah..." he murmured, at a loss for any other words.

"Come!" Dawn said, tugging on DJ's sleeve. "I think the mink den is nearby."

"Oh, right." DJ said, following the girl as she walked along the shore of the lake. Neither said anything; Dawn seemed to be focused on finding the envelope she'd been promised, while the young black man was enjoying the scenery. Wild Lake, from what he could see, was quite beautiful – no old tires or shopping carts or floating bits of trash to be seen, and there was definitely no sign of any dangerous wildlife, much less mutated freshwater man-eating sharks.

DJ was so distracted that he nearly missed it when Dawn suddenly darted ahead. He broke into a jog himself to catch up, but she didn't go far before she stopped and bent down.

"Hello little one, sorry to trouble you," the blonde said to something DJ couldn't see, "but I was told you had something we need?"

Once he'd closed the gap, he realized Dawn was talking to the mink just as she had talked to the rabbit earlier. "Yes, you have every right to be annoyed. They shouldn't have put such a thing in your home without your permission!" The girl continued, trying to soothe the irate mustelid. "If you give it to me, then I'll be glad to ask the hosts not to let it happen again, okay?"

The mink stopped chittering for a moment, then withdrew to its den. DJ nearly thought it had decided to just ignore Dawn's request, but moments later it returned with a dirty envelope in its mouth.

"Thanks!" Dawn smiled, taking the item from her new friend. The mink chittered a bit more, then went back into the hole. "Here!" she said, standing up and handing the envelope to DJ.

"Thanks a lot, Dawn." DJ replied, accepting the envelope and the card within. "I don't know what I'd have done without your help."

"Oh, I'm sure you would've found a card sooner or later. At least that poor mink won't have his home intruded upon anymore." She smiled at DJ, but it faltered when she caught sight of the camera-bot hovering behind him. "So, I guess we should go back to the fire pit then?"

DJ looked around a bit before answering. "Nah, you go on ahead if you want, but I think I'm gonna walk around for a bit more. I wanna see more of this place before heading back to camp."

"Oh, okay." Dawn said. She hesitated a bit before the two went their separate ways.

[[Confessional – DJ]]

"Okay, so maybe I didn't tell her the _whole_ truth." DJ said nervously, not too far from where he'd left Dawn. "I mean, I'm still going to walk around a bit, 'cause this place is pretty cool. But I also wanted some privacy, ya know? I mean, I can't exactly talk about a girl in front of her face, right?" He paused a moment, silently pleading with the audience and, more importantly, his mama back home.

"'Cause I gotta say, Dawn's pretty amazing! I mean, she can talk to _animals_, how cool is that? I've _always_ wanted to do that, so I guess I'm kinda jealous. I mean, it woulda been pretty useful back in season three when I was cursed. Plus, she cares a lot about nature and is just, I don't know, someone I'm kinda lookin' forward to being friends with this season."

* * *

"I hope the rest will be as easy to find as yours was, Cam." Zoey told her friend, eying the envelope in his hands enviously.

"I doubt it." The former bubble-dweller replied. "Even if there are other envelopes buried in the litter layer nearby, it's highly unlikely they'll get blown into sight by the wind. We should probably just keep checking more sheltered locations."

"Finding the cards shouldn't be too difficult. I don't think we were given a time limit, right?" Mike asked, scanning the higher parts of the trees.

"I don't _think_ they did?" Zoey said, looking at Cam.

"I certainly don't remember anything like that. Interesting. I wonder if they expect us to take a long time to get the envelopes, or if they just don't care?" Cameron said, looking at the three cameras that had followed them and thinking.

"Who knows." Mike laughed. "All I care about is finding out if we're going to share a cabin again."

"Yeah, how cool would _that_ be?" Zoey added. "I mean, I guess we won't always be on the same team, but it'll be nice to be around each other. Oh!" Spotting something to her left, the redhead ran off. Coming to a tree with a large opening a couple meters off the ground, she immediately began climbing.

"I bet there's an envelope in here!" Zoey explained once her friends had gotten closer. Sure enough, there was an envelope tucked inside the hole. She took it out, but didn't immediately descend. "I got one!" she shouted to her friends below. "I wonder if there's any else around, though. Hmm..." Keeping a firm grip on the trunk, Zoey peered out at the forest.

"See anything up there?" Mike called.

"Not really..." Zoey replied. "All I can see are branches and stuff!"

"Try circling around to the other side of the tree!" Cameron said, pointing in the direction opposite of where Zoey had been looking. "There might be something you missed!"

"Good thinking, Cam!" Zoey scrambled onto a nearby branch, using it as a foothold to get the different view that had been suggested. "Oh! I think I see something!"

Jumping down with confidence, Zoey lead the others to their third envelope. Unfortunately, it turned out to be hanging from a branch, which wouldn't normally have been an issue if it didn't look like it would snap with the next moderate breeze.

"Hmm, it doesn't look like it can hold any of our weights." Cameron said, beginning to pace and mutter calculations under his breath.

"Yeah, it does look like it'll be a challenge getting up there." Mike said, smiling at his girlfriend. He took a deep, sudden breath, his eyes losing focus for a moment before snapping back to almost-normal. His eyes were wider, though, and it almost seemed like his eyelashes and lips had grown.

"But _Svetlana_ is up to ze task!" 'Mike' exclaimed in a russian accent. With well-trained ease, the gymnast leapt and swung from branch to branch, scaling the trees around the envelope. Once she was in a position she was satisfied with, she sprung into the air with an overhead spin, snatched her prize as she flew past, and tumbled to the ground below. She stuck the landing flawlessly, and bowed to an invisible audience.

"Woohoo!" Zoey cheered, rushing to hug her boyfriend. Svetlana relinquished control of the body to Mike, who couldn't help but smile.

"Excellent! That's all three of us accounted for!" Cameron said.

"Come on, let's go back to the fire pit!" Mike said, and the three friends took off. The cameras following them took care not to bump into each other as they flew.

* * *

Strafing, ducking, and dodging, the diminutive robot flew through the canopy in a hurried attempt to keep its target in view. It had been assigned to the difficult-to-predict Izzy MacTaggart for this challenge, and it would follow its instructions as perfectly as it could manage. Thus, maintaining an unobstructed view of the target was the highest priority.

Its sensors had already picked up two signals in the immediate vicinity – one from the Six of Clubs and the other from another camera-bot – and its target's current bearing was in that direction, giving a high probability of a high-priority filming event. As the distance closed, the two cameras joint-calculated a number of optimal flight paths for high-efficiency filming, and changed their vectors accordingly.

The interaction between the two contestants was brief, but its frame rate had already self-adjusted to account for the primary target's movement rate to ensure no detail was lost. The target had visually located the Six of Clubs and retrieved it moments before the other contestant. The other contestant fell to the ground, but it was a low priority for filming.

"Hey! That was Lightning's card!" Its audio sensors picked up from behind it. The target laughed, and continued onwards.

* * *

"Gosh! Why don't you go look somewhere else, I can find my envelope by myself." Harold said, irritated by the pair who had ended up helping him, Leshawna, and Beth find cards for the former two.

"Can it, dingus." Duncan shot back. "Like I even _want_ to be helping a dork like you. I'm only doing it 'cause our girlfriends are tight!" The two were on their hands and knees, crawling along the forest floor searching for any bit of white. Nearby, the three girls were doing the same.

"Ooh! I think I got one!" Leshawna hollered from the foliage. The bush rustled wildly as she tried to retrieve it, eventually coming up triumphant. Her cheer faltered as she took a closer look. "Dang, looks like it got snagged in there." She felt the small rip at one of the corners, then shrugged. "Whatever. Not my fault whoever hid the dang thing got it tangled, _right_?" She punctuated her last word with a sharp jab towards the cam-bot hovering around her. The machine didn't react.

"Well, as long as you didn't look at the card inside, I don't think there'll be a problem." Harold said, standing up rather suddenly and nearly knocking Duncan off balance.

"Yeah, Mr. Dubois didn't say anything about _damaging_ the envelopes, he just-" Beth began to add, before she noticed something at her feet. "Ooh! I found one, I found one!" The short girl jumped up and down in excitement, pointing at the envelope sticking out from beneath a particularly large pile of bark.

"Mind if I have it?" Gwen asked, taking her hand out of the tree hollow she'd been searching. "If Harold doesn't mind, that is." The goth looked at the nerd, who had already begun searching a group of bushes a couple meters away from the others.

"Fine with me!" Harold called back to the girls. "I think I've spotted one anyway." He got back up and dashed away.

Beth and Gwen looked at each other, then at Leshawna who had already ran off after her boyfriend. "Go ahead." Beth said with a shrug, tossing the envelope to the goth and running off to join the pair she'd agreed to help first.

"Sweet, thanks!" Told the other girl. "Good luck!" she added to her other friend, already in the distance.

"Come on babe, let's get back to camp." Duncan said, grinning that his lover had finally gotten her prize.

"Yeah." Gwen replied, and the pair headed off.

Not too far away, Harold slid as far under a thorny bush as he could. In seconds he was tearing himself free, envelope clutched in his hand. Smiling, he lead the way back to camp with Leshawna and Beth following right behind him.

* * *

"Just a little more, big guy!" Noah said from atop Owen's shoulders. The portly blonde tried to lean against the tree just a little bit more, and stand on his tiptoes just a little bit higher, so his little buddy could reach the envelope in an annoyingly high-up hole in a rather large tree. They'd already managed to retrieve one of the envelopes this way, and after a quick couple of rounds of rock-paper-scissors they'd decided it would go to Noah. The other hole had been closer to the ground, though, so even stacked as they were it was proving difficult enough that Noah was contemplating trying to climb the tree a bit.

"Urrgh! Hold on, I think I have an idea!" Owen grunted, grabbing Noah's hips and manually lifting him up the couple of inches he needed to seize the envelope in his fingers.

"Got it!" The underachiever said, and with Owen's assistance he dismounted the gentle giant. "Good. Now even if we don't win this challenge, we should still get some points for helping each other out."

"You think so?" The party guy asked, dusting off his shirt and accepting the second envelope from his friend.

"Definitely. According to the rulebook, we can earn points during challenges other than by winning, and that butler specifically said we could help each other. It's obvious what they want us to do." Noah answered.

"Huh." Owen said. "It'll be kinda weird, not having to worry about winning. It means we'll have more time to have fun with everybody!"

"Yeah..." Noah agreed, rubbing his chin and beginning to think as the pair walked through the woods. The larger of the two didn't notice, and just stared straight ahead while continuing his own train of thought.

"Hey, maybe I could even try getting back with Izzy! I still kinda miss her. But I haven't really talked to her in awhile, so I don't know if she feels the same way. Maybe I should talk to her? I mean, since we're both gonna be here for the whole season, I think I have another shot. What do you think?"

"Hmm?" Noah looked at his friend, rapidly processing the snippets he'd actually heard. "Honestly, I think you're better off without her. I think Izzy, or 'Brainzilla', or whatever she was calling herself back then was right when she said you two were incompatible. She's just too chaotic and _nutty_, even if you two got back together, it's only a matter of time before you broke up again."

Owen pouted silently for a minute or two, mulling over what his friend had said. "I guess you're probably right. Man, relationships are hard, huh?"

"I wouldn't know, I've never been in one." Noah deadpanned. At Owen's questioning look, the Indian gamer quickly clarified. "Not that I _want_ to be in one. I've never really..._done_ the whole 'physical attraction' thing."

"Really? That seems kinda weird." Owen said without thinking.

Noah sighed. "Not really. There are a lot of people out there like me. Anyway, I think I can see the cabins..."

* * *

He'd been wandering the woods for nearly an hour, going by his watch, with no companion to speak of save the robot always hovering just a few meters away. He'd thought about giving a confessional, but he really had no idea what to say. Or rather, he had so much he wanted to say about his life, his 'experiences' on the show and in the months prior to the current season...but none of that really seemed like something he should just _confess_ to the faceless audience that might eventually watch the show.

He didn't bother actively looking for any envelopes; there wasn't a time limit and there was no incentive for people to hoard them, so it wasn't like he would go without a bed tonight. He doubted he'd be the last camper to find one either, unless he was unlucky. Granted, considering his luck in past seasons he thought he might end up not finding anything until it was dark, new staff or not.

He sighed, mind now hooked on reviewing his humiliating past with Total Drama. First season, he'd made a mistake and gotten voted out first. He blamed himself for that, both for not realizing his father's advice was awful, and for not just shutting his mouth and letting everyone focus their ire on Courtney. In hindsight, he'd overcompensated after that and gotten cocky, which was his ultimate downfall. Not qualifying for Action was also embarrassing, and he still didn't know how he'd managed that feat. It only ended up increasing his drive to compete and win, but at that point he was seen by nearly everyone else as a complete joke.

Chris, the smug and spoiled ass of a host, gave him even less respect than the token amount he awarded to the other competitors. He didn't even want to let him compete, tossing him out of the plane at the first opportunity! And after that, he was only barely allowed to continue the game for a couple of hours. He made another embarrassing mistake when crossing the Nile, and then he was voted out first. Again.

He really, really, _really_ should have left it at that, and accepted his defeat. But he didn't, and that's why he now had a year's worth of hazy almost-memories that he would dearly like to forget entirely.

Without realizing, his feet had brought him to the mouth of a very large cave. He would have been impressed, had it not triggered flashbacks to his most recent...'time'...spent in Camp Wawanakwa. Clenching his fists and gritting his still-too-sharp teeth, he forced himself to think of the challenge he was currently in, not challenges of the past.

His eyes were soon drawn towards a rather ornate pedestal standing in front of the cave. Judging by the vines growing up it, it had been there for quite some time. More importantly, though, was the envelope resting on it. Quickly, Ezekiel darted forward and snatched his prize. Sparing one last glance at the cave, he turned away to try and find his way back to civilization. He quickly spotted the start of a trail; he didn't remember if he'd taken it to get there, but he was certain it would lead him back to camp.

* * *

"Sha-YEAH! Almost there!" came a shout from just outside the main campsite. "Lightning's still in this!" The athlete soon emerged from the forest, envelope held high as if it were the Olympic torch. He ran straight for the campfire, grin on his face, only to be greeted not by the applause of the staff as he arrived before anyone else, but by a group far larger than expected.

"LAST?!" Lightning cried out in shock after a quick headcount. "No! Lightning doesn't come in _last place_! Lightning doesn't even come in _second_ place!"

"Sorry Mister Jackson, but you were, in fact, the last camper to arrive with an envelope." Gordon said, barely hiding a smirk. "Now, if you'd please stand with the others?"

Lightning, utterly joyless, shuffled over to where the other campers were and stood well away from them. Beth, DJ, and even Zoey looked like they wanted to say something to cheer the hyper-competitive jock up, but they were either at a loss for words, or didn't want to miss the results of the challenge. The camera which had been following the athlete, no longer needed for the time being, flew off behind one of the nearby buildings where the other excess cam-bots waited.

"Okie dokie! Now that we're all here, why don't I give out the challenge points, and then we can open the envelopes and pick cabins, okay?" Chelsea said with a cheer. In moments all eyes were on her, and she continued. "First, to Beth who was the first to receive an envelope, and Scott who was the first to arrive back at the campfire with an envelope, I award 500 points each!" Both campers cheered, but only Beth got any congratulations from the others.

"Next," Chelsea continued, "to those who successfully aided another in finding and/or retrieving an envelope, I award 250 points each! Those campers are..." she put a finger in her left ear, blocking out the ambient noise as she received a list of campers from the earpiece in her right ear, "Anne Maria, Beth, Cameron, Dawn, Noah, Owen, Sam, and Zoey!" Those eight took their turn at cheering, with Noah and Owen sharing a knowing look and Dawn only showing a token celebration as she shot strange looks at the hostess.

"And lastly, to those who wanted to help, but didn't end up doing much, I award 100 points!" Like before, she paused as she was read a list of qualifying names. "That means Alejandro, Brick, Dakota, DJ, Duncan, Gwen, Harold, Leshawna, Mike, and Staci!" Those ten cheered the loudest as most hadn't expected to be given anything for their attempts, much less $10,000.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all happy to have been awarded your first points," Gordon interrupted, "but I believe it is about time that you figured out where you'll be sleeping tonight." That regained everyone's attention. "When I give the word, you may open your envelopes and look at your cards. Do not trade cards with one another, just sort your self according to number." He then began pointing to the benches around the fire pit one by one. "Aces there, then twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes. Jokers stay here. Do I make myself clear?"

Gordon paused, looking at the anticipation-filled faces of the twenty-six contestants. "Then you may begin."

* * *

**Author's Note - Post Script**

Naturally, I have had the sleeping arrangements decided since before the first chapter was posted, and I don't intend on changing them. I assigned the cards randomly using random dot org until I got a pattern that worked for the Jokers. The first iteration had DJ and I believe B as the Jokers, which didn't end up working to my satisfaction. Because the campers are split 14 boys - 12 girls, having both Jokers be boys would have basically forced them to share a cabin together as the other six groups would have perfectly fit into three cabins. The second iteration had a boy and a girl as Jokers, and so I ended up using it. It has a few...interesting arrangements, I think.

I hope you all enjoy the story, and eagerly await the next chapter as much as I do.

- Fangren


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note  
**The fourth chapter actually ended up being about as long as this one, which just goes to show that I'm pretty bad at judging how long a chapter will be in advance. I also ended up ignoring my usual schedule of working only every other day so that I could get another chapter out before the end of the month; I don't think I'll be keeping up that pace though as I don't want to burn myself out. Still, I think a good goal for myself is to finish at least one chapter each month. Hopefully it'll be easier now that the initial pattern-setting has finished.

With respect to the reviewers:

**JockShipper:** Thank you! Actually, I typically only write about a page or two every other day, revising as I go and just before I post the chapter. As for DJawn, I personally think they're a very cute couple, or at least have the potential to be. Hopefully I'll be able to share my love for the pairing. I'm also glad you liked what I've done with Eva, Jo, and Lightning, I have a couple of ideas for them but their development isn't set in stone yet.

**Wish I Was a Pirate:** Thank you! I just hope I can keep it up, there's still so much story to write.

**Light of the Dawn:** I'm very happy to hear that you like it so much. I hope I can keep up the quality!

As always, I hope you all enjoy the story.

-Fangren

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Two of Wands, Reversed**

[South Fire Pit, Grounds of Camp Wild Lake]

The envelopes were open in seconds, but it took much longer for the twenty-six contestants to arrange themselves by number at the correct bench. A few of the campers hadn't quite seen where they were meant to go, not at all helped by there being more than six benches around the fire pit. Eventually, though, Duncan realized he was standing one bench over, Alejandro reminded Anne Maria that she didn't need to follow him, and Lightning got yelled at by Eva, leaving everyone in the right place.

Stepping back, Chelsea smiled at both the camera and the campers while Gordon made more notes on his clipboard. "Okay, looks like we've got our groups! Everyone hold up your card to be sure, okay!" A few eyes were rolled, but the campers complied.

"So, for the Aces," Chelsea began, moving closer to the first group, "we have Dawn, Mike, Zoey, and Eva!" The cam-bot that was filming the group zoomed in on an elated Mike and Zoey holding hands, showing the Aces of Clubs and Spades they'd gathered; Eva was standing a bit away from Mike, grumpily holding up her Ace of Hearts, while Dawn was trying not to stare at the hostess, Ace of Diamonds in hand.

"For the Twos, we've got Harold, DJ, Beth, and Dakota!" Chelsea continued. Harold grinned at the camera, showing his Two of Clubs; DJ and Beth were more sheepish at the camera's sudden closeness, but held up the Two of Spades and Hearts; Dakota looked like she wanted to be standing with Sam more than anything, and had to be gently nudged by Beth before she held up her Two of Diamonds.

"On to the threes, it's Sam, Alejandro, Staci, and Jo!" Chelsea said, arriving at the next group of campers. Sam shot a thumbs-up at his girlfriend, who stood only about a foot away; he held the Three of Diamonds. Next to him sat Alejandro, holding the Three of Clubs and looking suave. Staci, holding the Three of Spades, looked like she wanted to say something in front of the camera, but it moved away too quickly; next to her, Jo eyed her new cabin-mates disapprovingly, Three of Hearts clenched between her fingers.

"Next, the fours are Leshawna, Lighning, Ezekiel, and Scott!" Chelsea said. On either ends, Leshawna and Scott shot annoyed looks at the rest; the former holding up the Four of Hearts, the latter the Four of Clubs. Ezekiel's eyes darted between the two strangers he'd be sharing a roommate; his hand trembled slightly as it clutched the Four of Diamonds. Lightning, still depressed about coming last, sat slumped on the bench, barely holding up his Four of Spades so the camera could see it.

"On to the fives!" Chelsea said with a cheer. "We've got Duncan, Heather, Noah, and B in this group." Already Heather was exchanging verbal jabs with Duncan and Noah, the three pausing only briefly to show off Duncan's Five of Diamonds, Heather's Five of Clubs, and Noah's Five of Spades. B stood apart from the bickering threesome, looking mildly amused. He held the Five of Hearts.

"And the last of the number cards, the sixes!" Chelsea said. "The sixes are Cameron, Gwen, Owen, and Izzy!" The camera moved to get a shot of Cameron, hiding from his greatest fear behind his new friends. The former bubble-dweller barely remembered to flash the Six of Diamonds; a rather unamused Gwen held up the Six of Spades. Owen, showing the Six of Hearts to the camera, attempted to talk to Izzy, who was too busy trying to stick the Six of Clubs to her forehead.

"And finally," Chelsea announced, spinning to face the two campers left, "we have our two Jokers, Anne Maria and Brick!" The cam-bot hovered over to film them, keeping a noticeable distance from the Jersey girl as she sprayed her poof. The Black Joker was held against her spray can, while the cadet proudly showed his Red Joker to the world.

"Great! Now, it's time for the groups to decide who they want to share cabin with." Chelsea announced. "Remember, no more than four guys and four girls total! Hold on to your cards for now, too!"

"For reference," Gordon chimed in, not taking his eyes off his clipboard, "based on the composition of each group, the Aces can share a cabin with either the Fours or the Fives, while the Twos, Threes, and Sixes are all capable of sharing with each other. Note, however, that two groups will necessarily end up unpaired. Once the groups have made their arrangements, then our two Jokers will be allowed to choose."

"Sorry, babe!" Duncan called over to his girlfriend. "Looks like we won't be sharing a cabin!" He shot her a cocky sort of grin to let her know he wasn't that bothered by it.

"That's okay," Gwen replied with just a bit of snark, "it's not like we won't see each other. And besides, I wouldn't want to room with _Heather_ anyway."

The groups sorted themselves according to what Gordon had told them, with the Fours and Fives waiting for the Aces to make a decision and the Twos, Threes, and Sixes talking amongst themselves. Brick, not sure what to do, just flitted between the groups, listening to what they were saying in order to prepare for his own decision. Anne Maria just sat down and continued to perform maintenance on her look.

* * *

"I'm _not_ rooming with Heather." Eva stated from within the Aces' group huddle.

"Hey, I'm not saying she isn't bad or anything," Mike responded, explaining quickly under Eva's glare, "but you don't know Lightning and Scott like we do. They're pretty bad too, and I don't really wanna room with them either."

"Yeah, I'm with Mike." Zoey said. "We're gonna be stuck with _someone_ underhanded no matter who we pick, unless we just don't pick anyone I guess." She bit her lip as she considered that possibility. "Oh, but there's only five cabins to choose from, right? So at least two of the groups _have to_ pair up!"

"So what?" Eva grunted. "Let the other groups pair up then, so we won't have to share a cabin with Heather, Lightning, _or_ Scott."

"Hmm...maybe..." Zoey said, biting her lip again. "What do you think, Dawn?" she asked her distracted friend.

"Hmm?" The aura-reader said, turning her attention to the group. "Oh, yes. Please don't take this the wrong way, Mike, but I think it's better if you have roommates again this season."

"What, in case one of my other personalities acts up or something?" Mike asked in confusion, trying both not to take offense as well as figure out exactly what she meant.

"...more or less, yeah." Dawn replied after a bit of hesitation. "I'm not entirely certain what it means, but a small part of your aura has become darker since last season. I think it might belong to another personality, but it's so much smaller than the other parts that I can't read it very well."

"Oh. Huh." Mike said, frowning.

"Then who do you think we should share with?" Eva barked.

"Hmm..." Dawn said, looking at the other two groups.

"Ugh, hurry up and get this over with already!" Heather said; besides her, only B seemed to be paying the Aces any attention. Duncan was busy carving something into the bench he was sitting on, while Noah was reading a book. The blonde looked at her friend, but B just shrugged.

"Ooh, you better not pick Heather!" Leshawna said, glaring at her old enemy. Neither Zeke nor Lightning were talkative, though at least the former seemed to be paying attention. Scott just looked at Dawn with a mildly malicious smirk.

"What's the matter, fairy princess?" He said, leaning on his crutch. "Having trouble deciding? Why don't you just read our _auras_ and make it easier?"

"Oh, I _am_ reading your auras." Dawn shot back, throwing off the country boy's attempt at mockery. "And the choice is obvious. I'm sorry Leshawna," she looked at the camper in question who just pursed her lips and looked away. "but I'll have to insist that we share a cabin with the Fives."

"Well, if you say so." Zoey said, looking to her boyfriend to see what he thought.

"Fine with me, I guess." Mike added, still unsure what Dawn had meant. The three turned to Eva for the final vote.

"...Fine." Eva grunted after a moment. "But I'll be _watching_ you, Heather." She jabbed a finger at the much-maligned young woman.

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, how about we actually get a place to sleep?" Noah said, looking up from his book.

"Right." Zoey said, looking around quickly. "Excuse me! Mr. Dubois!" She called, waving the butler over. "We've made our decision. The Aces will share a cabin with the Fives, if that's okay with you."

"Very well then." Gordon responded, walking over to the three groups, eyes on his clipboard as he made notes. He looked at the campers briefly, and then at the five cabins. "How about the Aces and Fives take Cabin 2 over there," he pointed to the cabin just behind them, "while the Fours take...Cabin 4, I suppose." He gestured to a cabin on the other side of the fire pit. "Aces and Fives, you can go ahead and get your things from the Mess and take them to your cabin. Fours, please stay here until the Jokers have chosen where to stay." Looking them over to make sure there weren't any questions, the tall black man left them to go speak with the other groups.

* * *

Whereas the Fours and Fives had let the Aces decide which group, if either, they wanted to share with, the Twos, Threes, and Sixes all joined the discussion. After all, any two of those groups would be able to share a cabin together if they so chose. This also meant, however, that the three groups would necessarily take longer to reach a final decision. At the moment, each group was discussing their preferences separately.

"I just really want to be with Sam's team." Dakota said for what must have been the third time.

"If it was just him, it wouldn't be a problem." Harold explained. "I mean, Sam seems like a cool guy and all, but if we share with him we also have to share with _Alejandro_."

"Yeah, and I'm not gonna lie, after all the stuff he pulled in season, three, I ain't that comfortable sharing a room with the guy." DJ added.

"Is he really that bad?" Dakota asked, glancing over at the Spaniard.

"Definitely." DJ said. "The dude's a snake, plain and simple. Even if he can't get any of us voted off this time, he'll still find _some_ way to mess with us."

"I don't know, guys." Beth piped up. "Alejandro's bad and everything, but I think we should let Dakota be with Sam. I know if Brady were competing I'd _totally_ want to share a cabin with him, and I bet you'd want to share a cabin with Leshawna if you could, Harold."

"That's true." Harold admitted. "If it weren't for the fact that our groups have incompatible gender ratios, I would totally ask you guys to share with the Fours. I guess I can support a fellow nerd's relationship, even if it means sharing a room with that girlfriend-stealing jerk."

"I'd prefer sharing with the Twos, myself." Sam said to the other Threes. "Wanna stay close to Dakota, ya know?"

"I can definitely respect that, mi amigo." Alejandro told the gamer with a smile. "As the rest of us lack significant others in the other groups, or even especially close friends, I believe it would be unfair to deny one of our own the chance to stay close to his amor."

"Who _cares_?" Jo exclaimed. "Why do we even have to share anyway? There'll be more room for m-for each of us if we have a cabin to ourselves!"

"That is not the point." Alejandro rebutted. "Although having a cabin to ourselves would indeed mean more personal space, it would deprive us of the opportunities to learn more about our fellow campers, and leave us at a disadvantage in the event there _is_ a challenge that pits the cabins against each other."

"Hmm..." Jo said, mulling it over. She looked over the others in her group, appraising their worth to her. Between the couch potato, the guy in the wheelchair, and the loser who got voted off first last season, things looked grim. "Point. In that case, I say we go with the Sixes. Bubble-boy and the Giant Stomach actually _won_ their seasons, Gothball came second, and the fourth one managed to capture nearly _everyone_ last season while dressed as a _giant spider_."

"That, I cannot deny." Alejandro said. "However, I think we should hear from the other señorita." He looked at Staci expectantly.

"Oh yah, young love is like sooo important, like even my great-great-great-great-great-great Uncle Ron and his girlfriend Julie were the inspiration for Romeo and Juliet! Before them, like, _nobody_ understood how important young love was. So I think we should _definitely_ share a cabin with the Twos, yah."

"Well then, mi amigo," Alejandro told Sam, "it appears as though the group will share with the Twos – your girlfriend included – as our first choice." Jo just grimaced.

"So, Izzy, what've you been up to since season three?" Owen asked, having decided to take the opportunity that had been presented to him.

"Ooh, lots of stuff!" Izzy exclaimed, launching into a detailed account of her exploits since the end of World Tour.

"Uhh..." Gwen said, trying to find a way to _not_ listen to the redhead's stories. "So, Cameron, who do you think we should room with?" she asked, the boy still cowering in fear.

"I'd prefer anyone over Izzy!" Cameron replied, cringing as the other girl brought up her time working for the show the previous season.

"Yeah, well, it looks like we're stuck with her." Gwen laughed. "But hey, at least you don't have to share a room with her."

"I'll still be closer than I'm comfortable with." Cameron explained. "And although I'll probably become habituated to her presence eventually, I'm not entirely certain that would be healthier than the phobia."

Gwen looked at Izzy, now flailing her arms around in a recreation of somebody's panicked screams, and at Owen, who had a dopey sort of grin on his face. "Yeah, I can sort of see what you mean." There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before Gwen tried to get a discussion going again.

"I think we should try to share with the Twos, I guess." She looked over at the other two groups. "I mean, DJ, Harold and Beth are all pretty decent; I don't really know anything about Dakota, but the ability to turn into a giant monster seems pretty wicked. On the other hand, you've got that slimeball Alejandro and Jo, who seems like just as big a psycho as Eva."

"Well, I don't think I'd describe her as psychopathic, but Jo _is_ mean. I don't really know much about Staci, since she was the first person voted off and on the opposite team, but I remember her teammates acting very annoyed with her. Sam seems nice, though." Cameron said after a bit of thought.

"Is that so?" Gwen smiled. "Hey, what do you two think?" she asked Izzy and Owen.

"...and so that's how I ended up banned from Euro Disney! You know, I never _did_ figure out what happened to that llama..." By sheer chance, the former RCMP trainee had finished one of her dubiously truthful stories. "Hmm? What did you say Gwen?" she asked, whipping her head around and staring straight at Cameron. The bespectacled lad whimpered.

"Which group do you think we should share a cabin with?" Gwen answered.

"Oh, I'm fine with either." Owen said happily. "I can get along fine with anyone."

"Yeah, me too." Izzy chimed in. "I'm, like, _totally_ a people person, you know?"

"...okay then!" Gwen said, for a lack of better words. "Me and Cameron were thinking the Twos would be better, although I'd be fine with not sharing too."

"Have you all come to a decision, or do you need more time?" Gordon asked, calling the three groups together again.

"I cannot speak for the other groups," Alejandro began, "but the Threes have decided to share with the Twos, if they so desire."

"That's fine with us." Beth replied. "For Dakota's sake, we've made the Threes our first choice as well."

"I see." Gordon said, noting the choices down. "Sixes, how do you feel about this?"

Gwen, Izzy, Owen, and an extremely hesitant Cameron quickly huddled together. After a brief discussion, they broke apart and Gwen answered. "We're fine staying in our own cabin."

"Excellent." Gordon said. "I'm glad you came to an agreement. Now, the Twos and Three may retrieve their things from the Mess Hall and get set up. You'll be sharing Cabin 5." He pointed to one of the nearby cabins. "Sixes, you'll be in Cabin 3 once the Jokers have made their decisions." He looked them over, making sure they understood his instructions. "Twos and Threes are dismissed. Sixes, follow me."

At the butler's command, eight campers made their way back to the Main Lodge, while four followed Gordon to where the Fours waited alongside the Jokers, Anne Maria and Brick.

"Now then, Miss DiMarco, Mister McArthur." Gordon began once the remaining groups were assembled. "You may each choose to stay with the Fours in Cabin 4, the Sixes in Cabin 3, or in the currently-vacant Cabin 1." He pointed at each of the groups and their assigned living spaces in turn. "You two do not need to stay in the same cabin." He paused to allow the pair time to make a decision.

Anne Maria looked at the two groups, primarily the girls that would end up being her roommates. She'd already decided that while having a cabin to herself had some appeal, it would probably end up too creepy or lonely. And between the combined weirdness of Gwen and Izzy versus Leshawna, whom Anne Maria thought actually had some style, the choice was obvious. "Yeah, I'm goin' wit' the Fours." she said, walking over to where Leshawna stood with Lightning, Ezekiel, and Scott.

"Well then, in that case I'd better make things even and pick the Sixes." Brick stated, going over to stand with Cameron, Gwen, Owen, and Izzy.

"Good." Gordon stated with a smile, jotting down a few more notes. "Go get your things and get set up in your cabins." As the ten finally went to reunite with their belongings, Gordon went to stand by Chelsea.

"Time for a commercial break, right?" Chelsea asked.

"I believe so." Gordon said, checking his watch. "We'll have to check the footage to be sure, but once they've chosen their beds and such, and we do dinner and the Point Ceremony, we should be good for the first two episodes. Yeah, go ahead and cut to commercial."

"Great!" Chelsea cleared her throat and smiled at the camera-bot who'd been filming them. "Now that our campers have chosen their roommates, will they come to regret their decisions? Find out after the break, on Total Drama Rebirth!"

* * *

Once the campers got back out into the open air, they were ambushed by the hovering camera-bots. With filming resumed, some took the opportunity to find a secluded area and give a confessional.

[[Confession Cam – Noah]]

"Okay, so, people have been giving me a bit of flack recently for what I said in my _audition tape_ of all things." Noah began. He was standing behind the Main Lodge, away from any doors or windows; the sounds of campers moving about could be faintly heard but there was nobody who was clearly close enough to overhear.

"They think that since I'm smart, my plan to win shouldn't have failed." He rolled his eyes. "Apparently, people don't realize that I haven't really _lost_ anything yet. I just haven't gained as much as I could have. So what if I didn't win either of the two games I competed in first? I never really expected to." He paused, and smirked. "Even if I didn't win the money, I still acquired minor celebrity status, a number of useful connections, and an improved résumé thanks to that stint as Chris' personal assistant. All I had to invest was some time: less than two unproductive weeks while I competed in the first game, and a couple of months in the third. And this time? As long as I put forth some effort I can probably pay my way through a degree or two."

[[Confession Cam – Zoey]]

"Yeah, okay, I'll just be over here doing mine!" Zoey called off-camera. She looked back at the robot and grinned somewhat sheepishly, aware of what she'd said. "Sorry about that. But anyway, isn't it, like, so cool that me and Mike are sharing a cabin again? I mean, not like we're always gonna be on the same team or anything, but it's cool that we'll be so close. I guess I'll have to get use to having Eva and Heather as roommates though, they seem _just_ as scary in real life as they do on TV! At least I'll have Dawn to talk to, although she's seemed kinda, I don't know, _distracted_ today. I hope everything's okay!"

[[Confession Cam – Mike]]

"Am I excited about sharing a cabin with Zoey again? You bet. She's _amazing_, and I'm really lucky that she stuck with me despite everything that happened last season. Still, I'm kinda worried about what Dawn said earlier. I mean sure, my other personalities can be, uh, hard to handle at times, but nothing that would make me need a roommate."

He paused, a frightened look on his face. His eyes darted around lingering on a particular place off camera, and he bit his lip and hunched over a bit. "Actually, to tell the truth," he whispered, "I'm not really comfortable saying this in front of anyone but...I used to have another personality. He was..." Mike shuddered at the memory. "Well, he was pretty bad. Like, _really_ bad. If he were still around, I could see me needing some help keeping him in line." He straightened up a bit, but still looked scared. "But I – we – got rid of him a long time ago. It's just been me, Svetlana, Vito, Chester, and Manitoba ever since, so..." He trailed off, not sure what else to say.

"Okay Mike, I'm finished!" Fortunately, he was interrupted by Zoey's call from off-camera.

"Right! I'm on my way!" He answered.

* * *

[South Cabin 2, Grounds of Camp Wild Lake – Dawn, Eva, Heather, Zoey | B, Duncan, Mike, Noah]

Finished with their confessionals, Noah, Mike and Zoey found their cabinmates already putting their things away. As expected, the cabins were divided into two identical halves; Eva and Heather had already claimed the left side of the cabin, closer to the Main Lodge, for the girls. The hovering camera-bots did not follow anyone inside, simply waiting for the camper they followed to enter before flying off somewhere else.

"Oh, wow!" Zoey exclaimed as she entered. The cabin was about the same size as the ones at Wawanakwa, or perhaps slightly larger, but the fact that there were only four beds really made the room open up. Each bed was situated in one of the corners and faced into the room along the longer wall; between the ends of each pair of facing beds was a long dresser. There were also smaller nightstands with a lamp and what looked like a pamphlet on them, but what really looked good was the door at the other end of the cabin.

"Is that...?" Zoey asked hopefully.

"A bathroom?" Heather answered with an uncharacteristically giddy smile from next to the dresser on the left wall. "Because it _totally_ is! No more _disgusting_ communal bathrooms! _Ever_!"

"It's just one toilet, a sink, and a shower stall. Don't get so worked up." Eva grunted. She was sitting on the bed in the back-right corner, next to the bathroom, lifting weights. She was glaring at Zoey, or rather at a spot above her head.

"Wha..?" Zoey said, whirling around once she realized where Eva was looking. Mounted just above the door was a camera, more similar to the robots used for filming than the typical sort of video camera used in cabins past. "Huh, I guess they're trying out that kind of camera even in the cabins?"

"According to this, the cameras inside the cabins will stop recording video for up to half an hour at a time if we tell it to. They'll also switch to night vision when it's dark, but only if we move around – it'll just record audio otherwise." Dawn explained, reading the pamphlet sitting cross-legged on the bed in the front-right corner next to the door.

"Night vision?" Zoey said. "Like night vision goggles, right?"

"Yes." Dawn answered. "Also, we're responsible for keeping our bathroom clean, but if there's a problem we can ask for help through the camera."

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense." Zoey said, carrying her bags over to the one unclaimed bed.

"Do you need any help putting your things away?" Heather asked, sidling up to the redhead once she began unpacking.

"Uhh..." Zoey began.

"You really shouldn't be nice _just_ to the people you think you can manipulate." Dawn interrupted, drawing all eyes onto her and earning the pale blonde a slightly embarrassed glare from Heather. "I mean, I understand that you need to feel in control over others because you were bullied as a child, but it isn't going to make you feel any less lonely."

"I...wha-...bu-..." Heather spluttered, trying to regain her composure. "Look you little _freak_, I don't know what you _think_ you know about me," she said, stomping forward, eyes narrowed, "but you'd _better_ keep your mouth _shut_, got it?" She jabbed a finger into Dawn's chest, making her flinch ever so slightly.

"Suit yourself." Dawn said, quickly busying herself with her belongings.

The layout of the boys' side was identical to that of the girls', with four beds, four nightstands, two long dressers, a bathroom, and a camera above the door. As Duncan had already claimed the bed in the back-left corner and B was staring at the camera from atop the front-left bed, Mike and Noah put their bags on the back-right and front-right beds, respectively.

"So, pretty cool that we get our own bathroom now, huh?" Mike said after a minute of awkward silence.

"Oh yeah, totally." Duncan replied. "But none of you'd better try to _rush_ me while I'm in their, got it?" He added, getting serious.

"Uh, okay?" Mike answered, giving the delinquent a confused look.

"Hey, it takes a lot of work to maintain this look." Duncan explained unapologetically. "And you'd better not leave any dirty laundry on the floor either, or we're gonna have a _problem_."

"I don't think you have to worry about any of us pulling a Harold" Noah said from behind a book. "Besides, shouldn't you be worried about your own behavior? I don't think criminal activities are going to earn many points."

"Pfft, whatever." Duncan scoffed. "You just worry about yourself, since you'll have to actually _do_ something this time around."

"Hmm." Noah just turned the page.

"So, uh, B! What have you got there?" Mike, wanting to avoid an early argument, drew attention to the fourth young man in the cabin. B was sitting at the end of his bed, which was just close enough to the edge of the long dresser between his and Duncan's beds that the husky young man could use it as a desk of sorts.

He put down the mechanical pencil he'd been using and held up a large pad of paper, upon which he'd drawn something.

"Hey, this is one of those weird robot cameras!" Duncan said, swiping the pad so he could get a closer look. B shot the punk an annoyed look and took his sketchpad back.

"Oh yeah, you're pretty good at building things, right? Are you interested in those robots then?" Mike asked; B gave him a smirk and a nod.

"They _do_ seem like something out of a _Space Warrior_ game don't they?" Noah added. "Or one of those cyberpunk murder-fests."

"Whatever." Duncan scoffed. "A camera's a camera, it's not like we aren't used to 'em by now."

"Still, don't they seem, I don't know, a little high-budget for this show?" Mike asked.

"Trust me," Noah said, "if Chris hadn't spent most of the past four seasons' budgets on himself, we'd probably see the things as normal."

* * *

[South Cabin 3, Grounds of Camp Wild Lake – Brick, Cameron, Owen | Gwen, Izzy]

Cabin 3 was identical in all aspects to Cabin 2, and the other cabins, save for its position. The five young adults had agreed that the boys would get the left side, and the girls would have the right.

"Sooooo whaddaya wanna do now?" Izzy asked, leaning into a handstand from the edge of her bed in the front-right corner of the room. "I mean, we're not eating for a couple of hours, and we already did a challenge today, so we can do what we want, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Just like every _other_ time, we basically have free reign of the camp until they want us to do something." Gwen said, rooting around through one of her bags she'd left out on her back-left-corner bed. "So do what you want, I don't care. As for me," she withdrew her sketchbook and art supplies, "I'm going down to the lake."

As the goth walked past, Izzy stumbled and fell over. "Ooh!" She exclaimed, jolting back upright. "I know! I'll go see what the boys are up to!"

"Mmm, gotta love the smell of new living quarters!" Brick stated, breathing deeply and basking in the scent.

"It's okay I guess," Owen said after a sniff, "but I think I like the smell of an old kitchen better." His stomach growled. "I wonder what we're gonna have for dinner?"

"Hopefully it'll be as good as Chef's meals." Brick said, stowing a larger bag underneath his bed – back-left corner, facing Owen's and across from Cameron's.

"Yeah. I mean, as mean as Chef was, he sure made some good food." Owen agreed, drooling at the memory.

"You two actually _liked_ his food?" Cameron asked, a look of shock and concern on his face. "Most of it wasn't even edible!"

"What can I say?" Brick shrugged. "It reminded of the food they serve at the Academy."

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as everyone said it was." Owen defended. "Of course, I've never had a meal I didn't like, so maybe it's just me?"

"Hmm, maybe..." Cameron tapped his chin, making a mental note to further study the subject. "At any rate, we already know Chef Morgan is a certified Master Chef, so I'm sure her food will be good. Personally, I'm more concerned about the medical facilities. I saw the infirmary when we were locked in the lodge earlier, but it didn't look like anyone was in it, and we haven't gotten any information about the medical staff."

"Hmm..." Brick pondered. "I have to admit, that is a little odd. Still, I don't think Ms. Goodhoste or Mr. Dubois would overlook a trained medical staff. Why, even Chris at least had _Chef_ on hand to oversee those operations! Maybe we should ask Ms. Goodhoste or Mr. Dubois the next time we see them."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!" Cameron said, some of his cheer returning. "I get the feeling that with Izzy around, I'm going to need medical attention more often than I'd like, and not for the same reasons as last season."

"Come on, Izzy's not that bad once you get to know her." Owen said, looking through his things and trying to decide what snack he wanted to have. "In fact, she can be _really_ sweet."

"_Not that bad_?" The former bubble-boy exclaimed. "She dressed up as a giant spider and _terrorized_ everyone for _fun_! Brick, you were there, tell him!"

"I'll admit, I am ashamed of what happened during that challenge." Brick said with a slight blush. "I broke my code, and was nearly voted out because of it. But I don't hold a grudge against Izzy for causing it, she played her role perfectly and I respect her for it. And despite her..." he paused, searching for the right word, "eccentricities, I neither fear her nor dislike being around her." Owen beamed at the cadet's words, while Cameron just tried to frantically think of how to justify his fear to his roommates.

"But-" he began, but was immediately interrupted.

"HEY!" Izzy leapt through the still-open front door and somersaulted into the middle of the room. "How's everyone doin'" She came to a stop right in front of Cameron, sitting cross-legged on the floor with a wide grin on her face.

"AAAHHHH!" Cameron screamed, trying to back up onto his bed in an instinctual bid to escape. He quickly worked his way into a corner, became mentally overwhelmed, and fainted.

"Haha, I guess he didn't like that, huh?" Izzy laughed.

"Izzy, why'd you do that?" Owen scolded as Brick rushed over to check Cameron's pulse. "He's pretty scared of you you know!"

"Oh yeah, I know," Izzy said happily, "I _totally_ scared the bejeebus out of him that one time. Made him think I was gonna eat him and everything. Oh man, big guy, you shoulda been there, it was great."

"Izzy, I'm sorry, but now's not really a good time." Owen said, getting serious. "Maybe you can come back later when Cam's not around."

The redhead blinked. "Okay!" was all she said before leaping out the door hands-first.

* * *

[South Cabin 4, Grounds of Camp Wild Lake – Anne Maria, Leshawna | Ezekiel, Lightning, Scott]

"Lightning's goin' for a run, y'all!" the white-haired jock told his roommates the moment he'd finished putting his things away. "Gotta get back in the game! I ain't gonna lose again, sha-Lightning!"

"Meathead..." Scott muttered once the athlete had left. Sitting on his bed in the front-left corner of the right half of Cabin 4, the farmboy bent down to rub his still-recovering legs. "What are _you_ lookin' at?" he glared angrily at Ezekiel who had been sitting on the front-right bed ever since Lightning had demanded that he be the only one allowed to sleep near the bathroom.

"Er, just wonderin' how yer legs were, eh." Zeke answered nervously.

"Well they're _fine_." Scott said. "Just a little sore from the challenge is all."

"Oh." Zeke murmured, descending into another awkward silence. "So, uh, how's yer physical therapy been goin'? Because I think mine's been goin' well, I haven't spit anythin' weird up in over a week, eh!"

"How's it _going_?" Scott repeated in disgust. "I'm a _man_ is how it's going. I don't need no fancy _therapist_ to help _me_ get better after a sh-shark attack." He shuddered just a bit. "Even if it _was_ from Fang."

"Oh." Zeke said, slumping over to try and hide his disappointment and shame.

"I'm going outside." Scott grunted, getting up off his bed and, crutch in hand, limped over to the door.

"So, ya think we should figure out a schedule or somethin' for the bathroom?" Anne Maria asked while checking her nails. "'Cause this tan ain't gonna reapply itself, ya know. I gotta put another coat or two on every couple 'a days or it starts to fade, and I ain't about to let _that_ happen on international TV."

"Uh yeah, sure." Leshawna answered, trying to decide which drawers to put what in. "How long does that usually take?"

"Eh, about an hour or two, depends on what kinda shape it's in. About half an hour for the poof, too, unless I gotta redo it." the Jersey girl said, carefully touching up the polish on her nails.

Leshawna thought for a moment. It seemed like a long time even without other make-up or showering, and it was bound to stink up the bathroom. On the other hand, it was better than having to wait in a line outside the communal showers for Heather and Lindsay and every other girl that was on the island. Plus, she could always just get up earlier.

"Yeah, fine. So long as it's first come, first serve, I don't think we'll have any problems." Leshawna said. "So, what made you decide to room with me anyways?"

"Eh, like I was gonna room with a goth and that crazy girl." Anne Maria answered, not looking up from her nails.

"So what, you don't care about what kinda guys are sleeping next door?" Leshawna asked, sitting down on her bed – back-left corner, opposite the Jersey girl in the back-right corner.

"Why should I?" Anne Maria stared, eyebrow raised, at her roommate for a moment before returning to her maintenance work. "We ain't sharin' a room. I mean yeah, Lightning and Scott are jerks, but it ain't like we gotta work with 'em all the time." She paused, glancing at the wall behind her separating the two halves of the cabin. "Dunno about that pipsqueak though, never seen him before in my life. What's his deal anyway?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure his deal is that he was completely _feral_ until a little while ago. Don't you remember him giving you that fake diamond last season?" Leshawna said once she'd reminded herself of what had happened between the Jersey girl and Homeschooled.

"Wait." Anne Maria froze, dropping her nail file. "You mean that pipsqueak," she pointed behind her to the other half of the cabin, "is the weirdo who tricked me into quittin' the game?"

"You didn't recognize him?" Leshawna asked in disbelief. "I guess the fool changed more than I thought."

"I..." Anne Maria gaped. "I think I'm gonna get some air." She made towards the door, but Leshawna quickly got in her way.

"Hold you, you better not be goin' next door to kick his butt or anything. 'Cause as much as you think he deserves it, it isn't the time or place for it, ya dig?" She glared at her roommate, searching her eyes for a hint at what she was thinking.

"Nah, I ain't gonna do anything like that." Anne Maria said, unintimidated. "I just wanna do a confessional, okay?"

"...Okay." Leshawna relented, stepping aside to let her roommate through.

"Outta the way!" Anne Maria said, barging past Scott who'd made his exit at the same time as her. She stopped at the fire pit, watching one of the robot cameras fly towards her and then looked around for a private spot to share her thoughts.

[[Confession Cam – Anne Maria]]

The Jersey girl began her first private on-air moment of the season with a deep breath. "Yeah, so I ain't as mad at that pipsqueak, Zeke or whatevah, as I thought I'd be. I mean sure, he cost me a million bucks, but I managed to sell that fake rock he gave me, the cubic-whatever, to a fan of the show for a hundred G's. On top 'a _that_, I've gotten _loads_ 'a people askin' me what it was like on the island and stuff."

She smiled and pulled out the can hidden in her hair before continuing. "I've been thinkin' 'a writin' a tell-all book about it, maybe once this season's over. 'A course, I've also cheesed off a bunch 'a girls who wanted to _do_ the freak or somethin'." Her smile turned fierce. "They weren't no match for _me_ though."

She ended her confessional with a puff of hairspray.

[[Confession Cam – Scott]]

Scott began his confessional in a sour mood. "I don't care what anybody says, I'm _fine_. I'm a fast healer, everyone in my family is!" His frown changed to a grin as he thought of his home. "Pa says it's 'cause we gotta be tough and in good health to do all the farmwork."

He sighed, and frowned again. "And now I gotta compete with everyone feeling _sorry_ for me," he spat, growing more animated. "And on top of that, I can't even get people voted off! How am I supposed to win with rules like _that_? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a team player! Not like I'd even want to be on a team with anyone who laughed at me when I was in that stupid chair..." He muttered the last part, not fully realizing what he'd said until he finished. Panicked, he thrust a hand at the lens of the camera-bot.

* * *

[South Cabin 5, Grounds of Camp Wild Lake – Alejandro, DJ, Harold, Sam | Beth, Dakota, Jo, Staci]

"Hey guys, I kinda feel like I've asked you for a lot already, but do you mind if I take the bed in the back-right corner?" Sam asked, looking up from an electronic device that was, surprisingly enough, not solely used for gaming. "I just got a text from Dakota saying she's gotten the back-left bed on her side, so she wants me to take the bed closest to hers."

"Yeah dude, I'm fine with that." DJ said, heading towards the front-right bed. "I'll take this one, if that's okay."

"No skin off my bones." Harold shrugged, glancing down at Alejandro. "Even though you're untrustworthy and dishonorable, I'll let you pick between the remaining two beds because you're still in a wheelchair."

"Thank you, Harold, for your kindness." Alejandro said, an eyebrow raised at the dweeb's apparently sincere smile. "In that case, I shall take the bed closest to the door." He wheeled himself over to the dresser he and Harold would be sharing, and began unpacking his bags as the other three young men did the same.

"So, why'd you guys decide to come back to the show?" DJ asked as he placed his carefully-folded shorts into a drawer.

"To be honest, it was kind of a whim on my part." Harold admitted. "I just wanted to get away from the other Drama Brothers for awhile, and I still had mine and Leshawna's invitations lying around. I think we were probably the last two to accept the deal, and I'm both grateful and mildly surprised that Leshawna agreed to come with me."

"I'm mostly just here as moral support for Dakota." Sam said, eyes glued to a muted Game Guy. "I was kinda hoping there'd be some toxic waste here so I could become a kick-butt mutant too, but I guess if I win I could always just buy my own goo."

The other three gave the gamer an odd look before Alejandro took his turn. "For myself, I could not resist the allure of another chance at winning a million dollars. I'd also like to make up for my rather _embarrassing_ defeat in season three, and perhaps get to know Heather a little more."

"I'd say I don't know what you see in her," DJ said, "but I think you two might just be meant for each other."

"Well, she _does_ have pretty nice boobies," Harold said candidly, eliciting splutters and blushes from both DJ and Alejandro, "but I have to agree with DJ. You two are the only ones who have successfully resisted each other's manipulations while simultaneously falling for each other's charms. I can't really see either of you ending up with anyone else, no matter how much Heather denies her attraction to you."

"...I shall take that as a compliment." Alejandro said, still a bit shocked.

"Alright ladies, listen up!" Jo commanded from within the girls' half of Cabin 5. The four had already picked beds and gotten most of their things put away. Dakota was happily texting atop her bed in the back-left corner; Beth was sitting on the front-left bed, facing the jock-ette but eyes darting towards the door now and then; Staci had retreated to the bathroom after stowing her things in the front-right part of the room.

"Here are the rules!" Jo continued. "Rule #1: As long as we're living together or on the same team, I'm in charge. Rule #2: Since we're not voting each other off this season, if any of us causes their team to lose a challenge while at least one more of us is on their team, the loser must take a penalty as decided by the other members of her team. Rule #3: As leader, I reserve the right to modify the rules if necessary. Got it?" She finished with a glare at her roommates, none of whom seemed particularly intimidated.

"Huh?" Dakota said, looking up from her phone. "Yeah, fine, whatever." Not really paying the others any attention, the budding star turned her attention back to a conversation she actually cared about.

"Ya know, it was my great-great-great aunt twice-removed Sally who first forcefully took charge of a group of fellow campers." Staci said, returning from the bathroom with her bow in a different spot. "She was quite the trend-setter, yah."

"Uh, that doesn't seem accurate..." Beth told her before turning back to Jo, eyebrows quickly lowering. "And why should we do what _you_ say anyway?"

"Because I'm the best competitor in this cabin! How else are we gonna win anything if you don't follow my lead?" Jo said, flabbergasted by Beth's resistance.

"_Excuse_ me?" Beth responded. "I managed to win season two _and_ I got my card before anyone else _and_ I already have more points than you! I don't think I need your help to win, and even if I _did_, I wouldn't do everything you _said_ just _because_!"

The two young women glared at each other for over a minute before Jo relented, grunting "Fine! Have it your way!" then storming off.

Beth let out the breath she'd been holding, and looked at Dakota and Staci. "Sorry about that you guys. I hope I didn't just make things worse, but I'm not letting someone walk all over me like Heather did in season one."

"Oh yah, I know what you mean." Staci said. "My great-great-great aunt twice-removed Sally, who I told you about before, ended up getting chased out of town by an angry mob, so my family _totally_ understands that you can't always expect to have your way without consequences, yah."

"Wait, is that what she was doing?" Dakota said, finally realizing what the jock-ette had been trying to do earlier. "_So_ not cool."

* * *

A little over an hour later, Gordon's voice was heard over the loudspeakers once more. "Attention campers! Dinner will be served in the Mess Hall in 30 minutes. The first Point Ceremony will be held immediately afterward at the South Fire Pit. Please don't be late to either. Thank you."

Soon after, the twenty-six contestants began trickling into the Mess Hall, starting with those who hadn't strayed far from their cabins. They would find the interior of the dining area to be slightly modified; a few of the long tables had been pushed up against the left wall sans-benches, and were each draped in a fine blue tablecloth. On either end of this line of tables was a doorway leading into the kitchen which had been locked earlier; now there were many different sounds and smells coming from them. Now and again someone, presumably an intern but garbed in a kitchen-appropriate manner, would exit the kitchen and place a small folded card or a stand of some kind on one of the set-aside tables. On closer examination, on each card was written the name of a dish and a list of ingredients.

"Hmm..." Noah muttered, studying one of the cards.

"Ah, I see Chef Morgan decided on a buffet after all." Gordon said, walking up the tables and looking them over. At the quizzical looks of some of the campers, he continued. "Normally, you'd have to go through one of those doors to be served, rather than have it brought out here."

"These are to warn us in case we're allergic to anything, right?" Cameron asked, having already looked over all the cards.

"Correct, Mister Wilkins." Gordon answered offhandedly while looking at his watch. "Once everyone else has arrived, I'll let Chef Morgan know and we can have dinner."

"Oh, I can't wait!" Owen said, gravitating towards the door to the kitchen that was closest to him. He was held back by Noah, who shook his head in a silent command to stop.

Soon enough, the remaining campers came, with those who'd been furthest afield, including Gwen and Lightning, arriving last. The last to enter was Chelsea, who brought with her a host of cameras.

After a quick headcount, Gordon poked his head into the kitchen, hollering "Okay Chef Morgan, everyone's here!" He took a step back, from the door, and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

They were quickly forced to comply as several interns exited the kitchen in quick succession, each carrying a covered dish which was quickly placed on the stand behind the appropriate card and uncovered. They were followed by interns bearing plates, napkins, serving utensils, and pitchers of numerous beverages. The flurry of movement ended just as quickly as it had begun; the interns disappeared into the kitchen, leaving a very inviting feast and twenty-eight hungry mouths.

Before anyone could begin serving themselves, Chef Morgan emerged from the kitchen looking flustered but extremely pleased. "Well then folks, line up and dig in! Oh, and take one of these too!" Morgan began, speaking very quickly and handing a notecard to each of the contestants as they passed by. "I've already received a preliminary list of your dietary needs, but I'd like you to list them again just in case I missed something. Also, feel free to put down the foods you love or hate! I can't guarantee I'll always follow them of course, but I do want to know what everyone likes. Also, your birthday too if it'll happen during the show and you want it celebrated or whatever!"

"Thank you for preparing this splendid feast, Chef Morgan!" Gordon said, patting his colleague on the back and surreptitiously placing himself at the front of the line. "It all looks delicious, and very thoughtful of you to list the ingredients of each dish."

"Th-thanks, but I couldn't have done it alone..." Chef Morgan blushed, but Gordon had already lead the others in getting their first meal of the season.

The food was quite varied; roast chicken, lasagna, stuffed peppers, two different salads, mashed potatoes, skewers of vegetables and mushrooms, and a few kinds of rice were all present. One by one each person took a plate and filled it with food; the campers were initially hesitant of where to sit since there were no teams to divide them, but most quickly ended up sitting with their friends.

"Oh wow, it all looks so good..." Chelsea said, last in line and taking her time looking everything over.

"Don't worry, there's plenty more in the kitchen, so feel free to come back for seconds and thirds!" Chef Morgan replied with a smile.

"Hmm, well I don't know if I'll do that." Chelsea said without thinking, quickly adding "Nothing against your food, of course. I guess I have a small stomach or something because I get full really quickly." She finally chose a small stuffed pepper, accompanied by a dollop of potatoes and some wild rice, and left to join Gordon who was sitting alone. The duo was eventually joined by Chef Morgan, who had been persuaded to eat with them by Gordon during his trip to get seconds. The Chef had remained outside the kitchen to oversee the meal, issue orders to refill empty dishes, and accept any diet cards that had already been filled out – just Owen so far, who had given it to the chef along with a very exuberant hug.

About fifteen minutes into the meal, the staff were approached by Brick on his way to get seconds. "Excuse me, Ms. Goodhoste, Mr. Dubois?" The two turned to the cadet, Gordon in mid-bite.

"How can we help you, Brick?" Chelsea asked with a smile.

"Well, with all due respects sirs, a few of us were wondering what sort of medical team is currently on-hand, in case of an emergency. I only ask because nobody has seen or heard anyone in the infirmary, and in fact there's been no mention of _any_ medical staff this season." Brick stood with his hands – and dishes – behind his back, looking formal but somewhat nervous at approaching a superior in such a manner.

Gordon swallowed and sighed, looking annoyed but not at anyone in particular. "As it so happens, Mister McArthur, our Camp Doctor was unable to make it today. According to the producers, she should arrive some time tomorrow morning. Until then, we have to make due with the assorted medical skills of myself, Chelsea, and a few of the interns. In the event that we are insufficient and our Doctor has not yet arrived, we will call an ambulance. Does that answer your question, Mister McArthur?"

"Yes, sir!" Brick said, and with a happy salute he left to get more food.

"Hrmm..." Chef Morgan murmured impatiently shortly after Brick left, adding "I'm just gonna go check on the kitchen, I'll be right back" before leaving the other two staff members.

Gordon and Chelsea sat in silence for a few seconds, until it was interrupted by a sigh from the butler. The hostess patted her colleague on the back. "There there, Gordon, I know how much you wanted the first day to be perfect. Even without the Doctor here, it still turned out great!"

"We were lucky..." Gordon muttered. "Any number of things could've ended badly; someone could've been hurt during the challenge, or gotten lost, or been bitten, or any number of things we aren't sufficiently prepared for because _we don't have a real doctor yet_."

"Yes, it _could_ have been bad, but it _wasn't_. Just keep telling yourself that, okay? All we have to do is make it another twelve hours or so, and we'll have our Doctor." Chelsea said soothingly, her smile met by an odd stare from her 'butler'.

"I don't think I'll ever understand you, Chelsea." Gordon said, breaking his stare with a shake of the head and a bit of a chuckle.

* * *

The rest of dinner went without incident, although Chef Morgan never returned to the staff table. Once it became obvious that nearly everyone had eaten their fill of dinner, Gordon stood to make an announcement. "May I have your attention please! Dessert shall be served shortly at the South Fire Pit during the Point Ceremony. We'll meet there in about fifteen minutes, at 7:30 sharp. Please don't be late." Having said his bit, he and Chelsea left the Mess Hall along side most of the cameras.

Lightning immediately jumped up and ran towards the door, shouting "Lightning's gonna be the first one there this time! Sha-yeah!" He was quickly followed by Jo, who never turned down a challenge; in turn, Jo was followed by Eva and Brick, both seeing her as a rival of sorts, then Owen who just cared about the food.

"I'd better make sure he doesn't eat everything." Noah said, excusing himself from the table the two had shared with DJ, Beth, Ezekiel, Dawn, B, Izzy, and the already long-gone Brick and Eva. The two soft-hearted contestants merely shrugged at each other, and resumed their conversation with Zeke.

Scott was the next one to leave, finally fed up with being the sole person receiving Staci's attention since the two jocks had left. Heather also left, faking being tired of Alejandro's attempted conversation.

Izzy's departure was quite abrupt, but it sparked the rest of the campers to leave as well. First DJ, Beth, and Ezekiel, then the table of Gwen and Duncan. Harold and Leshawna, Mike and Zoey, Cameron, and Anne Maria.

Once Sam and Dakota had left as well, B nudged his friend and sole remaining tablemate, Dawn.

"Yes, I know I shouldn't put it off any longer." Dawn said, earning a quizzical look from the husky young man. When the blonde neglected to explain any further, B shrugged and followed her out the door.

* * *

By the time the four racers had reached the campfire, overtaking both the hostess and her aide in the process, Chef Morgan and the interns had already set up both a table of s'mores supplies and a large television screen with accompanying lights. As Lightning celebrated his victory and the other contestants made their way to the seats, Gordon and Chelsea approached the projector and screen, respectively. Gordon, in full uniform again, checked with the interns operating the lights that everything was running smoothly while Chelsea closed her eyes and started muttering to herself, apparently going over her lines one last time while another intern scuttled around, touching up her make-up. Chef Morgan, having shown the contestants the dessert table and helped them get started roasting marshmallows, joined the other two staff members looking considerably more nervous than either one.

"Ready?" The hostess asked, looking over to her butler.

"Just about." Gordon replied, then spoke into his earpiece for a bit. Nodding, he took a remote control from his breast pocket and pointed it at the television; the Total Drama Rebirth logo appeared on the screen. "Okay then, whenever you're ready." He added, joining his two colleagues in front of the screen.

Chelsea Goodhoste nodded, turning her gaze to the camera-bot which had flown over to record her. She bobbed her head three times, silently counting down to her mark. "Welcome, campers, to the first Total Drama Rebirth Point Ceremony!" she began. "While in previous seasons marshmallows represented safety and a continued shot at the prize, here they are just a tasty treat to be enjoyed by the fire. With no vote, and therefore no elimination, we've decided to turn the ceremony normally used to give one of the players the boot into a way for both the campers, and the viewers at home, to keep track of everyone's point total. We'll also use this opportunity to review recent events, and award any points that may have been earned outside of the challenges." She stepped to the side, motioning for her colleagues to do the same as the screen changed to show a tabulated list of the contestants and their points, although the latter column was currently blank.

"We'll start the ceremony by reviewing recent challenge points, before allowing myself, Gordon, and Chef Morgan to award any additional points they deem necessary. Now let's get started!" She finished her sentence with a cheer, and the television switched to an aerial map of the camp. Superimposed on the map were a cluster of flashing dots, twenty-six in total, scattered fairly evenly across a surprisingly small part of the camp. It appeared as though, save one, the staff had deliberately kept the envelopes reasonably close to the camp proper, and that there was still plenty of land left unexplored.

"For our first ever TDR challenge, we sent you searching the campgrounds for the cards which would decide who you would be rooming with for the rest of the game. With very little to go on, most of you immediately set out to search. One of you, however, did not leave immediately." Chelsea motioned to the screen, which zoomed in on one of the dots and showed a clip of Beth receiving her card from Gordon.

"Because Beth received her card first, she was counted as winning the challenge, and received 500 points. However, there were two possible ways to win this challenge, and Beth only qualified for one of them. The second went to another camper, who through a bit of luck and a lot of ruthlessness, managed to bring his card back to the fire pit first." The screen, which had zoomed back out to the map at the end of Beth's clip, zoomed in again to show Scott racing Gwen and Duncan to a pair of cards, then returning triumphantly to the fire pit.

"Because Scott also won the challenge, he also received 500 points." The screen changed back to the points table, the two winner's points filling in and the table rearranging so that the pair were at the top. "Of course, those weren't the only points that were awarded for this challenge! Because the staff of Total Drama Rebirth want to encourage teamwork, we decided to hand out points to anyone who helped a fellow camper find or retrieve a card. After reviewing the footage, we decided that eight campers had played an important part in another camper getting a card, and rewarded them with 250 points!"

Chelsea paused again and the map, with the points depicting those cards which had been shown now replaced with check marks, zoomed in not to one specific point but a montage of those eight campers' actions. At the end of the montage, the map appeared again with the points representing taken cards replaced by check marks. The table appeared again, with the adjusted scores of Beth, Anne Maria, Cameron, Dawn, Noah, Owen, Sam, and Zoey appearing.

"And of course, to reward those who had their hearts in the right place," Chelsea continued, earning rolled eyes and snide murmurs from the more competitive or antagonistic contestants, "we rewarded a final 100 points to each of ten campers who wanted to help, but didn't end up doing much." Another montage appeared, showing the efforts of Alejandro, Brick, Dakota, DJ, Duncan, Gwen, Harold, Leshawna, Mike, and Staci which hadn't already been shown. The table appeared again, and once updated, faded out to the map. Only six of the flashing dots hadn't already been replaced.

"That's it for the challenge points, but let's take a quick look at those last six cards, shall we?" Chelsea asked with a playful smirk to the camera. One by one each dot was zoomed in on; first Heather acting overly triumphant at having picked up an envelope off a windowsill, then Lightning and Izzy's confrontation in the woods, followed by Eva and Jo scuffling to and from the lake, to Ezekiel in front of the cave, and ending with Lightning pole-vaulting himself into the air to snatch his prize hanging from a branch.

"Now, without further ado, on to the rest of the points!" Chelsea said with renewed exuberance. The campers, who had grown somewhat bored of the rehashing of points they already knew about, grew tense. "Tonight, I'm going to award points to three campers for doing the show a favor by volunteering to do the first confessionals. Not all of them made the cut for the finished episode, but I'd like to recognize Alejandro, Beth, and Gwen for their efforts by awarding 50 additional points to each!" The host looked to the screen, where the points table was being updated; in the audience, the three were given light congratulations by their friends. "Anything else?" the blonde asked her two companions.

"Indeed there is." Gordon said, stepping into the spotlight looking far more serious than the host. "I would like to advise the campers against intentionally vandalizing or otherwise destroying camp property. Two such incidents occurred today; one happened before the game begun and thus I cannot in good conscience penalize the contestant responsible. The other, however, with result in a point deduction." The butler, hands clasped behind his back, stepped aside to allow for a better view of the screen, which now showed a clip of Duncan taking his pocket knife to one of the benches around the fire pit. "Mister Smith, for your actions I will be deducting 10 points from your score."

The delinquent in the audience, realizing he'd been caught, muttered "Weak."

Gwen, sitting next to him, snickered. "Maybe you should be more careful next time," she scolded playfully, trying to raise his mood.

"Whatever." Duncan answered, hiding a smirk.

"That is all I have to say for now." Gordon stated. "Chef Morgan, anything to add?"

All eyes turned to the third member of the staff, who sighed. "Not at the moment, no. I mean, I'm glad everyone liked my food and all, but I'm not going to award points for that." That statement surprised several campers, most notably Alejandro and Heather who'd gone out of their way to express their enjoyment of the meal for the express purpose of winning points, either in the game or with the Chef.

"Maybe next time I'll do something with the points, once I've had the chance to get to know you all a bit better." Chef Morgan finished, turning back to the hostess and the butler.

"Okay then!" Chelsea said happily as the points table updated one last time, looking straight at the camera. "It looks like Beth has taken a commanding lead today, but there are still many more opportunities to earn points. The game is just getting started, but I can guarantee it'll be the most exciting season of Total Drama yet! Find out what other surprises we have in store for these kids on the next Total Drama Rebirth!" As she had earlier that afternoon, Chelsea held her pose briefly before letting out her breath and motioning for the camera filming her to cut.

"Well, that's the end of the first day, more or less. We'll still film you, of course, until lights out at 10 o'clock at which point you should all be in bed anyway." Chelsea explained as Gordon turned off the screen and assisted the interns in taking the ceremonial set-up down. "Tomorrow will be a day off from challenges, but we'll have a few activities for you to take part in if you so choose." She smiled at Chef Morgan, who looked confused at first before realizing what the hostess wanted.

"Oh, uh, breakfast will be served tomorrow morning at 7:30, so don't be late because I'm closing the kitchen after an hour whether or not everyone's eaten." Chef Morgan quickly explained.

"I'll let you all sleep in tomorrow, but after that there'll be a wake-up call at 6:30 whether or not there's a challenge, so make sure you get enough rest." Gordon added, stepping away from the interns. "With that, you are dismissed for the night."

* * *

Although the Point Ceremony had finished, the campers did not disperse all at once. Some stayed by the campfire, eating their marshmallowy treats and chatting about the day's events, while others headed off alone to enjoy some privacy.

[[Confession Cam – Heather]]

"Ugh, I can't believe that Ugly Beth-y is in the lead already." Heather griped, eyes briefly darting off-camera before returning to her nails. "It's like they're _trying_ to encourage loserdom with all these rules. Whatever, giving points to people for 'helping others'," she said with air quotes and heavy eye-rolling, "just makes it easier for _me_ to get them to do what I want. I'll still win, I just have to figure out who I can get an alliance with." She paused a moment after hearing footsteps from the other side of the tree she was standing behind; the unfamiliar voices suggested a pair of interns, as did the fact that they were talking about setting up the challenge, from what the Queen Bee could hear. Once they left, she continued.

"My cabin's out, obviously. Zoey seems desperate enough, but I can't make a move with both the freaky nature girl and _Eva_ there. Maybe the girls in Cabin 5? Not Beth or ugly jock girl, of course, but the loudmouth and the mutant should work, as long as I do it discretely. I'll probably need more than them since the teams are going to keep changing or whatever, but I'll manage. I always do!" She ended her confessional with a smugly devilish grin.

* * *

As time went by, more and more campers retired to their new cabins to shower and get ready for bed. A few continued their conversations or started new ones, while others were content with silence.

[South Cabin 2, Girls' Side – Dawn, Eva, Heather, Zoey]

With Heather in the shower and Eva busy lifting weights until it was her turn to use the bathroom, Zoey took her chance to talk to her friend.

"Hey, Dawn? I've been meaning to ask you why you've been acting so, I don't know, _weird_ all day. I mean, weirder than you usually are, no offense." The redhead smiled nervously, but the blonde gave no response. "But yeah, I've noticed you keep shooting looks at the new host and acting, I don't know, scared I guess? Whenever she's around, I mean. Is there, like, something in her aura that we should know about?"

Dawn did not meet Zoey's eyes, looking quickly at the camera above the door, and then at the floor. She chewed her lip nervously, but did not speak until Zoey raised a concerned hand. "It's...I don't know."

"You don't know?" Zoey parroted, brow furrowing. "Well, tell us about it and maybe we can help!" From her bed in the corner opposite the indie chick's, Eva raised an eyebrow at her implicit inclusion, but remained silent.

Dawn looked Zoey in the eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Zoey, but neither you nor Eva would understand. I...I need some fresh air. I'll be back in a moment." Not allowing a word edgewise, the aura reader immediately left the cabin.

* * *

Despite the darkness of the spring sky it wasn't quite lights out yet, and so Dawn was not surprised to be ambushed by one of the strange hovering robot cameras used for the season. She smiled bleakly and led it over to a spot she'd already seen to be devoid of people,.

[[Confession Cam – Dawn]]

"I said what I meant back there; I truly do not expect _anyone_ to understand what I see around Chelsea Goodhoste. Still, I feel an explanation is due, at least for my own sake. You see, at first I thought I'd seen something wrong, but it's the same each time I look at her, and no matter how much I think about it it doesn't make any sense. And because I'm the only one I know of who can actually _see_ auras, I don't know what I should do." A sniffle and another chew of her lower lip. "I've always been able to see them, as far back as I can remember, and I can see one around every living creature. Until today, at least." Another bleak smile, and a deep and shuddering breath.

"For you see, Chelsea Goodhoste does _not_ have an aura."

* * *

**Author's Note - Post Script**

I had initially considered keeping a running tally of the points, as well as a diagram of the sleeping arrangements, at the end of each chapter, but I think I'll keep them in my profile instead; they should be posted fairly soon.

A few notes about each cabin:

**Cabin 2:** I don't think I could've asked for a more Mal-resistant set of campers. It also works well for my plans for Eva.

**Cabin 3:** Poor Cameron. Also, very little antagonism or scheming between these five, which is a nice change of pace I think. Izzy is Izzy, but the other four are solidly hero-types who should get along well.

**Cabin 4:** The oddest mix, without a doubt. I hope my renditions of their respective accents and ways of speaking is good.

**Cabin 5:** Another odd bunch. Also good for inter-cabin drama, especially on the girls' side. Only time will tell if Staci will be able to rise above her elimination-bait personality.

Anyways, now that the first day is over I'll be trying to get into a pattern of two chapter for two days, usually showing the off day and challenge set-up in the first chapter, and the challenge/Point Ceremony the next. Chapter 4 is entirely an off day, though, but that's because I need to establish the pattern. Hopefully, the rest won't be as long.

I'm always on the look out for my own mistakes, so let me know if you've caught one, or have any other suggestions/feedback/criticisms of how I'm portraying these characters. I'm also open to challenge suggestions, since I'll need quite a few to cover the full 49-day season.

I hope you all enjoy the story, and eagerly await the next chapter as much as I do.

- Fangren


End file.
